Wild Child
by IzzyMorgensternXX
Summary: The adventures of Rhydian and Jana growing up in the wild pack, Rated T because it deals with what happened to Jana's mum.
1. Chapter 1

Aran didn't understand what it was about babies than made girls go all soppy.

He looked at his younger sister with disgust as she pulled faces and spoke in baby speak. Meinir was usually so stoic, to the point of being almost completely uncaring, but there was something about the little cub that had completely enchanted her.

Aran watched as Alric's daughter stared at him with her emerald eyes, a huge smile lighting up her face. She clapped her hands together as she giggled. Aran growled in response- he hated the cubs- but Jana didn't even whimper.

"Do we really have to babysit her?" Aran protested.

"Yes," Meinir replied, pulling Jana into her arms, "Alric and Arianne asked us to. They're out hunting."

"They could have stayed," Aran argued, "Gerwyn and Ceri stayed to look after Rhydian, anyway why couldn't they look after Jana?"

"They wanted to take Rhydian into the village," Meinir said, with a look of disgust, "Alric never wants Jana to see the human world. It's an honour for us to be asked to do such an important thing. One day Jana will be our alpha."

Aran smiled contemplatively, "Well maybe it is an honour then. We might be able to influence how she rules the pack- make her rule the way we want her to."

Meinir smiled in response, "That was exactly what I was thinking all along."

_Break-Break-Break-Break-Break_

"I'm leader of the pack!" Jana exclaimed defiantly, crossing her arms as she had seen her mother do several times when arguing with her father.

"No you're not!" the blonde haired boy argued, "I'm the alpha! I will always be alpha."

Jana shoved Rhydian as hard as she could, but was unable to knock him over. He might have only been half a year older than her, but he was already several inches taller than her.

"I'm the alpha!" Jana argued, "And if you don't agree I won't let you come to my birthday feast."

Rhydian rolled his eyes. It was Jana's third birthday and there had been a large feast arranged for that night. Alric and Arianne spoiled their only daughter, giving her everything she wanted- including a big tent all of her own.

Jana stuck out her tongue, before running off as fast as she could.

"Where are we going?" Rhydian yelled, running after her.

"Big tree," Jana replied, eyes beaming with excitement.

After a few minutes they stopped before a tall oak tree. There was a large hole in the trunk just above the roots, and Jana could just about fit- Rhydian was too big now.

"See," Jana said, "I must be the alpha, because I'm the only one who can still fit inside this tree. This tree can tell a true alpha."

Rhydian laughed, "You're crazy! You're such a baby, believing such stupid stories."

"I'm not a baby!" Jana yelled, "I'll prove it. Bet I can climb higher than you."

"Bet you a slice of cake I can climb higher," Rhydian argued.

"You're on," Jana said as she pulled herself up onto the first branch. This wasn't going to be as easy as she'd previously thought. She wished now that she could be as big as Rhydian; it would make it easier to reach the branches.

Rhydian climbed with ease and was soon only a few branches below her.

"I'm going to win," he said grinning, as he grabbed onto a branch next to where Jana was standing. They were very high up; they could see the tops of most of the trees.

"No you're not," Jana replied adamantly, but she was beginning to get a little scared now- she wondered how they would get down, this game didn't seem so fun anymore.

Rhydian climbed past her, but seeing the expression her face, stopped, "Are you ok Jana?"

Jana didn't want to let Rhydian win, but she was frozen with fear, "You can have that cake. I just want to go home, Mummy and Daddy will be wondering where we've gone."

"Ok," Rhydian said as he climbed back down. The last thing he wanted was to get on the wrong side of Uncle Alric.

Jana was still frozen with fear, she felt sick just looking at the ground.

"Come on," Rhydian said looking up at her; "You're not scared are you?"

Jana shook her head vigorously, "No, I'm alpha. Alpha's are never scared."

She carefully stretched as far as she could to try to place her feet on the branch below.

Rhydian held out a hand to her and she took it gladly as she tried to reclaim her balance.

"You're such a baby!" Rhydian exclaimed, "You can't even climb properly."

"If you keep on being rude to me I won't let you have any cake."

"Whatever, cub," Rhydian replied as he kept on climbing. Soon he was at the bottom of the tree and Jana felt very alone.

She tried desperately to reach the branch below, but couldn't and her arms ached with hanging on to the branch above.

She felt her hands slip and let out a cry.

"Jana!" Rhydian yelled.

Jana fell the last few feet to the ground and landed in a heap of leaves. Rhydian could hear her crying loudly, and raced to her side. Jana never cried- she must have been really hurt.

She was covered in cuts and leaves clung to her messy scarlet hair, but more worrying her left ankles was bent at an unnaturally angle.

"I want Mummy," Jana said, in a quiet voice, "I want my Mummy."

Rhydian raced off immediately to where the rest of the pack was staying. When he arrived he was met by an angry Alric.

"Where's my daughter?" Alric asked, "She's going to be late for her birthday feast. She might think she's already alpha but the rest of the pack won't be willing to wait on her hand and foot."

"Alric, dear," Arianne said gently, "I'm sure Jana will be back soon. You know how she gets about being out on her own after sunset."

Rhydian was always struck by just how similar Jana and Arianne were. They both had curly scarlet hair and the same emerald eyes. Arianne could be just as stubborn as Jana when she wanted to be.

"You have to come quickly;" Rhydian said breathlessly, "Jana's been injured."

Alric's anger dissipated immediately as he and Arianne shared a concerned look.

"She's near the big tree, we were climbing and she fell," Rhydian said.

"I'll gather the healers," Alric answered, "Arianne, you go with Rhydian."

Arianne didn't hesitate as she ran after Rhydian, earning puzzled looks from Meinir and Aran. He heart was filled with sorrow at the idea of Jana being in pain. The sun was beginning to set also, and she knew how scared Jana would be at the idea of being alone in the dark.

She heard Jana's crying before she saw her. Jana was very still and Arianne could imagine how cold she must be laying on the ground with only her thin summer coat for warmth. She raced to her side.

"Mummy!" Jana cried as Arianne pulled her into her arms. She could see that Jana's leg was bent at a sickening angle.

"Everything will ok, darling," she said stroking Jana's long hair. She was so small, so vulnerable and she felt guilty that she had failed to protect her.

"Is Daddy angry?" Jana said, her face creased with worry.

"No, no," Arianne reassured her, "He's just going to find Auntie Ceri so that she can help you."

Jana's eyes filled with tears, "I want the pain to stop."

"It'll be ok," Arianne said, as she stood up, holding Jana in her arms just like she used to when she was a baby.

Arianne raced towards the camp. She was glad that she was the fastest out of all the pack. It took her half the time it would have taken the others to get back to them. Rhydian appeared at her side moments after.

Arianne walked towards Jana's tent and was surprised to see all of the pack's healers gathered inside.

She placed Jana carefully onto the ground, covering her with plenty of blankets, aware of just how cold she was.

She felt someone tug at her sleeve- Meinir; she had not expected her to follow her.

"Rhydian, Aran and I want to know if Jana will be ok," Meinir said in a worried tone.

"Yes," Arianne reassured her, hugging the girl. Meinir was almost like a daughter to her, although there was only eight years between them- Meinir being thirteen and she being twenty one.

"I want to see Rhydian," Jana demanded suddenly.

"Jana," Ceri began, "You need to rest, you can talk to Rhydian tomorrow."

"No," Jana argued, "I want to see him now."

Arianne and Ceri shared an understanding look- they had forced the two together in the first place, hoping that the inevitable would happen when they were older; it should have hardly surprised them that the two of them would be inseparable.

"Ok," Arianne said and moments later Rhydian was kneeling next to Jana.

"How are you?" Rhydian asked, holding Jana's hand.

"It still hurts," Jana protested, fidgeting.

"Stay still," Ceri chided her, "I won't be able to fix it if you keep on fidgeting."

Jana sulked.

"Cheer up," Rhydian said, "I got you a birthday present."

Jana's eyes lit up with anticipation as Rhydian passed her a small bunch of violet flowers.

"Thank you," Jana replied, awkwardly hugging Rhydian.

"Young love," Gerwyn said, appearing at the door, "Come on Rhydian, let's leave Jana to rest."

Rhydian took his father's hand.

"Rhydian!" Jana called out.

"Yeah?"

"I'm still the alpha."


	2. Chapter 2

Jana couldn't remember the last time Meinir had hugged anyone, ever.

She was even more surprised that it was Rhydian that she was hugging.

About a week or so had passed since Jana's birthday- she didn't know for certain, wolfbloods used the moon to track the passing of days and it had been cloudy most nights. Jana hobbled around the camp; using old twigs are crutches or forcing Aran to give her piggybacks. Transforming could cure almost anything in a wolfblood; however she was way too young to start changing at the full moon- if she wasn't the alpha's daughter she doubted that she could make people help her as much as she did.

Meinir seemed to be some old Welsh nursery rhyme singing to Rhydian as the boy cried. Jana didn't know exactly what had happened- some funny men wearing all black had turned up a few days ago and talked to her father and Uncle Gerwyn and earlier that morning Auntie Ceri had told her that her uncle had left the pack.

She didn't understand how her father had let that happen- the worst thing a wolfblood could do was abandon their pack.

Jana flung her arms around the golden haired boy, earning a snide look from Meinir who hated her overexuberance.

"It'll be ok, Rhydian," Jana said, leaning his head on her shoulder, which was hard to do considering that he was much bigger than her; "You still have your mummy and my mummy and my daddy and me. You still have a family here and one day, according to mummy, we'll fall in love and be alpha female and alpha male- won't that be so amazing."

Rhydian rolled his eyes and made retching noises, earning a swipe from Jana and a quiet laugh from Meinir.

"You're not alone, Rhydian," Jana added, "You can have my daddy if you want."

Rhydian laughed it wasn't a great secret that Uncle Alric and Jana constantly argued- they were both very stubborn and not the kind of people who liked to compromise.

"Thank you, munchkin," Rhydian said, as Jana scowled at her nickname.

"I hate being called a munchkin," Jana said, crossing her arms, "I'm not that small."

"Would you prefer to be called a leprechaun then? They're usually ginger." Rhydian asked, earning a growl from Jana.

"I don't know why daddy let that Irish man into the pack," Jana began contemplatively, "I thought we were all supposed to be Welsh."

"There are wolfbloods from other countries, Jana," Meinir said mockingly.

"Yes but Welsh wolfbloods are the best," Jana asserted, "I wonder when everyone will be back with lunch."

"They said they would be back when the sun is straight above," Meinir said.

"Lot of use that is," Jana replied grumpily, "There's too many clouds. White fluffy things in the sky, I command you as your alpha- well nearly- to move so I can find out when mummy and daddy and the rest of the pack will be back."

Meinir and Rhydian laughed as Jana scowled.

"Why won't they listen to me?" Jana shrieked, "I'm their alpha!"

Meinir laughed loudly as Jana grew angry.

"I'm off to find some berries," Jana announced, "As the alpha male to my female, Rhydian must come with me. But you're not even a beta wolf, Meinir, so you can stay here until my daddy gets back."

Jana grabbed Rhydian's hand, half dragging him.

"Ow, Jana," Rhydian complained.

"Mummy says it's better if men listen to their wives," Jana said gleefully, "It causes far less problems."

"Jana, I'm never going to marry you," Rhydian announced, disgusted at the idea.

"Rhydian, I don't really want to marry you either," Jana replied with a sigh, "I want to just rule the pack and the world. But mummy and daddy said you'll have to be my alpha male and mummy and daddy know what's right."

"Do they now?" A voice said, appearing out of nowhere, "And did mummy and daddy decide that it was right to leave you in the woods all alone?"

Jana nodded as Rhydian tugged on her sleeve.

The women had light brown hair and large dark eyes, she was human. Rhydian didn't like her much, and wished that Jana would be more careful about what she was saying.

"Do you mummy and daddy know where you are?" the woman asked concerned.

"Sort of," Jana admitted playing with hem of her dress, "We were supposed to wait in the clearing until they return but we were hungry so we went to find some berries."

"Jana," Rhydian said, urging his friend to keep quiet. He didn't like the woman.

"Jana," the woman said, "That's a pretty name. My name's Jane. And yours is, little man?"

"Rhydian," he said quietly, holding Jana's hand.

They began to wish that they hadn't left Meinir.

"You look like you haven't worn clean clothes and had a bath in ages," Jane said.

"We got dirty, we were playing and got muddy," Rhydian said quickly.

"No we didn't," Jana argued, "What's a bath? Ow, Rhydian don't poke me in the ribs."

"Maybe you should come with me," the woman said, "I can get you some food."

"No," Rhydian began, "Mummy and daddy will be back soon, we'll be ok. They told us not to go with strangers."

"Especially not cowarers," Jana added.

The woman laughed, "What's a cowarer?"

"It's-"Jana began.

"It's not a nice thing to call someone, Jana," Rhydian interrupted, "We should go back to the clearing."

"Well I'll go with you," the woman volunteered, "Make sure you get back safely."

Jana and Rhydian looked at each other in confusion- they could easily find their way back on their own- but accepted the offer.

They never went back to that clearing again.


	3. Chapter 3

Everything about the human world both thrilled and scared Jana.

There were so many odd sights and sounds, weird objects and buildings- there were so many things that she didn't even know the name of.

The woman-Jane- had taken her to a small building which she said was the police. Jana didn't understand- she thought police were people, not buildings.

Jana copied Rhydian as he sat down on what the woman called a sofa.

"I thought these would be uncomfortable," Jana said bouncing up and down, "But they're just soft. I'm going to ask Daddy to get one for my tent."

"Jana," Rhydian said solemnly, "I don't think we're going to see our parents again."

"Nonsense," Jana replied, "It's all just a big mistake. Even if Daddy doesn't want to go to the human world, Mummy will. Mummy's not afraid of anything."

"Jana, you can't call it the human world," Rhydian chastised, "You can't let them find out what we are."

Jana's eyes narrowed, "Rhydian we shouldn't be ashamed of what we are."

"No," Rhydian agreed, "But some people would hurt us, that's what my Mummy said. She said they would think we are monsters."

"That's just stupid," Jana said before reaching for a crayon, "Do you think we can eat these?"

Jane appeared suddenly and let out a laugh, "Of course not darling, I don't suppose you've ever had normal food have you?"

Jana screwed up her face at normal- to her nothing tasted as good as raw meat.

"When are we going home?" Jana asked.

"After you've had something to eat," Jane said, "And we've got you two some new clothes."

"But I want Mummy," Jana protested, picking at the edge of a cushion.

"Darling," Jane said soothingly, "Your mummy left you on your own in the woods. Good mummies don't do that."

"My Mummy is the best mummy in the world!" Jana yelled angrily.

"Well if she is," Jane said with some uncertainty, "Then she only needs to come here and answer a few questions and everything will be back to normal. Now, a social worker- that's someone who makes decisions about where it's best for kids like you to live- wants to speak to the both of you and then we'll go and do some shopping."

Jane left the waiting room.

Jana stabbed at the sofa grumpily with the crayon leaving orange marks all over the cushions.

"You need to do as I say," Rhydian said quietly, "If I tell you to be quiet then be quiet. We need to be careful about what they tell them. We know our parents are amazing but they want to take us away from them and send us to live with Jane."

"Ok," Jana agreed, "I promised to try to do as you say."

"You have to!" Rhydian exploded, "Otherwise you'll never get to see your Mummy and Daddy again ever."

Jana burst out crying and Rhydian pulled her into his arms, stroking her messy hair.

"I…need…to…get…out…of…here," Jana said between sobs, "The…walls…are…getting…closer. I can't hold them off any more!"

"The walls aren't moving," Rhydian said trying to calm his friend.

"I need to get out," Jana said beginning to breathe more quickly and erratically, "I feel like I can't breathe."

"Calm down, Jana," Rhydian said, stroking her hair as Jana only became more and more agitated and began to cry even more loudly.

"Is everything ok?" Jane asked appearing with the social worker- a woman a few years younger than her with scarlet hair not unlike Jana's.

"It's Jana," Rhydian said worriedly, "She needs some fresh air."

"I can't breathe!" Jana yelled loudly.

"I'm pretty sure you can, young lady," the social worker said mockingly, "Now just calm down, nobody is falling for your games. You're not going back to your Mummy and Daddy. You're going to live with Jane. She'll be your new Mummy and you'll need to start being better behaved."

Jana looked up at the social worker and Jane venomously, allowing her eyes to glow yellow. Rhydian saw her eyes change colour and tried to get his friend's attention but she was completely focused on the two women. They looked petrified, trying to figure out what was going on.

Jana was still breathing fast, she was still completely petrified.

It didn't surprise Rhydian that Jana would try to attack them.

She leaped at the social worker, sinking her teeth into the woman's hand. The social worker shrieked with pain as Jane tried to grab Jana- but it was impossible, Jana was using all of her wolfblood skills to avoid being caught.

"Rhydian, help me!" Jana yelled as she punched and kicked at the social worker.

Rhydian raced to Jana's side, grabbing her hand and half pulling her out of the door of the police station.

"Where are we going?" Jana asked breathlessly; allow she was glad to be outside again.

"Home," Rhydian said, "We need to look for the entrance to the woods. The path Jane took to the town, once we find the path, we find the pack, or there'll find us."

"We could use Eolas," Jana suggested excitedly, running after Rhydian, aware that the police and the social worker were likely to have started to follow them by now.

"No, we're too young," Rhydian said, "You can't use it if you're a cub."

"I hate being a cub," Jana admitted, "Jane wouldn't have taken us away from the pack if we were adults or even Meinir's age, would she?"

"No," Rhydian admitted, "But now you need to keep quiet and follow me, we're nearly at the woods."

Jana could see that Rhydian was right; the woods were just a few metres away. All they had to do was cross the busy main road.

The speed of the cars frightened Jana, but she trusted Rhydian and held onto his hand tightly.

In the distance, she could hear shouting and looking behind her she could see the social worker, Jane and several of the police.

"Rhydian we need to go to the woods, climb and hide in the tallest tree we can find," Jana said, it was one of those rare moments that she sounded like an alpha rather than a cub.

"I know, but the cars are moving too fast, too close," Rhydian argued, "We might have other chances to run away."

"No, I'm not going to just accept that," Jana answered, "If the cars won't stop for us, we'll have to make them stop."

It took Rhydian only a second to register what his friend was about to do.

He tried to grab for Jana's hand but he was too late. He watched his friend dart out into the road and heard the sound of car horns blaring.

"Jana!" he yelled in terror.

"Rhydian!" Jana shrieked, as cars moved on either side of her,"Come on!"

"No!" Rhydian yelled, "This isn't safe. Jana please, don't do this."

"I'm afraid too, Rhydian," Jana admitted, "But the time for fear has past, we need to go home."

"There are other ways," Rhydian argued.

Jana let out a sob, "I love you, Rhydian. I'll come back with Mummy and Auntie Ceri, maybe even Daddy and Aran and Meinir too. We'll come rescue you."

Rhydian smiled sadly, watching as his friend darted off towards to trees.

He looked back momentarily at the group of adults who were only a few metres away from him, knowing he may never see the pack, Jana or his family again.

He was lost in his thoughts but the screech of tyres of tarmac and a loud crashing noise brought him back to reality.

He looked up and saw Jana.

She was lying deathly still on the road, inches from where the car had stopped.


	4. Chapter 4

When Jana woke up everything was blurry and white, but her Mummy was there and that was all that mattered.

Jana stared around her at the unfamiliar room; the wall in front of her had several square things dotted along it that allowed her to see outside. There wasn't much to see apart from a little patch of grass with a few more of those odd chairs-this time made out of wood- but the idea of being close to the wilderness was enough to make Jana feel calmer.

"Mummy!" Jana shouted, flinging herself into her mother's arms. Her mind was racing- how was her Mummy here, surely Daddy wouldn't have allowed it- or maybe he would? Where was Rhydian? When would they be going home?

Jana knew something wasn't quite right, which was why when Mummy began to grow hazy she was only half surprised.

"Mummy! Mummy!" she yelled again and again, sobbing.

But her Mummy had completely disappeared.

BREAK- BREAK- BREAK- BREAK- BREAK- BREAK- BREAK

Jana spent three weeks in the hospital; she had broken her left arm and had a concussion- whatever that was. Jane said she was a very lucky little girl. Jana had stuck her tongue out at her- if she'd been a lucky girl, she thought, then she and Rhydian would have made it back to the pack.

Rhydian had spent every day with her at the hospital, playing with some of the weird objects that the humans called toys. He taught her everything he knew about the human world and she was so grateful that she still had him.

"I can't believe I'm finally getting out of here!" Jana announced exuberantly, trying and failing to pull her coat over her injured arm.

"Here let me help," Rhydian offered, "Jane said we could go for an ice cream before we go home."

"I don't want an ice cream," Jana said indignantly, "I want to go home. I told you, Mummy is waiting for us, she came here to take us home but I was too poorly, so now we've got to find her and the rest of the pack."

"No Jana," Rhydian said, "You didn't see your Mummy that was a halo-sign-nation because of all the medicines they were giving you- that's what Jane said."

"Jane's a liar," Jana announced, "She just wants us to believe that our parents don't care about us, that they abandoned us. I know I saw Mummy and I'm going to find her."

"Jana, you can't run away," Rhydian replied, "You're still injured and you nearly died last time. The human world is dangerous, and we're only small, it's not like the pack, we haven't got everyone looking out for us. Out here, you're no longer the alpha's daughter, there's no one who will protect us like the pack did."

"But I can't stay here," Jana said glumly.

Rhydian smiled cheekily, "I didn't say that we were staying. We just need to know more about the human world first, so we know what we're fighting against. Last time we weren't ready, we didn't know that cars are dangerous and that the police would try to catch us."

"And I was still limping," Jana said, brushing a stray lock of scarlet hair away from her face, "I probably slowed you down."

Rhydian placed a hand comfortingly on Jana's, "You didn't slow us down. Next time we'll plan our escape better, humans have things called crossings, that's how they avoid the cars."

"Maybe we do need to learn more about the human world," Jana agreed, as Rhydian playfully ruffled her hair and she tried to swipe at him but he dodged her.

Jana growled in response.

"You better be a good cub," Rhydian began, holding up a small bag, "Or you won't get your present."

Jana's eyes were wide with excitement as she took the bag from Rhydian. Inside was a small red wolf toy.

"That's what you're going to look like when you're older," Rhydian joked.

Jana hugged Rhydian exuberantly, clutching the toy in her hand, "This is brilliant. Thank you, Rhydian."

"Jane was bit freaked out by the eye thing you did, but she thinks she was just stressed or something like that," Rhydian admitted, "I think we should hide our wolf side anyway, it seems like this isn't the kind of place where they think wolfbloods are normal."

"At least we don't have to worry about transformations for the next few years," Jana said, "I can't ever imagine being as old as Meinir."

"Yeah," Rhydian agreed, "Meinir and Aran are really old, I can't ever imagine being like that."

"I think you'd look cute as a wolf though," Jana admitted quietly, blushing.

"Jana!" Rhydian replied in surprise, "You can be such a girl sometimes."

"Maybe that's because I am a girl," Jana said simply.

Jane appeared at the door moments later, her hair was shorter than Jana remembered and she looked nervous.

"Are you ready?" Jane asked, "I thought we could go for lunch at McDonalds."

Rhydian seemed happy at the idea, but Jana just stared blankly.

"They have meat there," Rhydian whispered, "Good red meat, it'll help you heal."

"You sound just like Aran sometimes," Jana replied, as they followed Jane out of the room.

Jane stopped next to a dark blue car. It reminded Jana of the night sky at twilight and she wondered miserably if she would ever see the wilderness again.

Rhydian climbed into the car, holding a hand out for Jana.

"But I thought you said cars were dangerous," Jana puzzled.

Jane laughed and Jana scowled in response. "They're only dangerous when you don't cross the road properly," the woman replied, "You'll learn that when you're old enough."

"When will I be old enough?" Jana asked as she pulled at the seat belt, not quite sure what to make of it but just copying Rhydian.

"Not for another few years," Jane replied, adjusting some of the odd shaped items at the front of the car, "When you're a big girl."

"But Daddy already thinks I'm a big girl," Jana argued, "That's why he gave me a tent all of my own."

"Did he now?" Jane said, as the car engine started. She used that town that Rhydian had heard a lot of adults use when they pretended to be interested in kid things.

Jana nodded exuberantly. The car reversed before driving onto a small road. Jana was scared and little excited, maybe cars weren't so dangerous after all. She wondered why the pack didn't use them.

She looked out of the windows of the car at the world around her. Houses decorated each side of the road, with their neat little gardens. Children played with metal horses and in one front garden a group of noisy children were throwing water at each other.

"I thought we'd just pop home quickly," Jane replied, "So that Jana can see her bedroom and get changed into some cleaner clothes."

Jana looked up at her new home; it was huge and made of a golden material. Despite all of concerns about Jane, she was glad that the women had a house worthy of an alpha's daughter.

"It's so pretty," Jana said eyes wide with wonder.

Jane laughed, "I'm glad you like it. Maybe when you're older you could be an architect and design houses."

"I don't know," Jana contemplated, "I want to be a leader when I'm older. Daddy said I'd be the leader when I'm older."

Rhydian shot Jana a warning look, but she simply shrugged her shoulders and hugged the wolf toy.

"Well you don't have to be just what your Daddy wants you to be," Jane said, "You can be anything you like. Both of you can."

"You could be an archy- tech and a leader," Rhydian suggested.

Jana smiled; maybe the human world wasn't so bad after all. She followed Rhydian and Jane into the house. It was equally as beautiful inside. The hallway was small area with doors leading off of it that showed a large kitchen and living room. A staircase ran along one side of the room and Jana could just about see a room decorated with bright pink walls.

"What do you want to be when you're older?" Jane asked Rhydian.

"Happy," the boy replied tactfully and Jane smiled in response.

"Why don't you show your sister her room?" Jane suggested before walking into the kitchen.

Rhydian took Jana's hand as he helped her up the stairs. Stairs were much like trees; Jana contemplated, only far less difficult to climb.

"Why does she think I'm your sister?" Jana asked.

"I dunno," Rhydian shrugged, "She just assumed that."

"But we look nothing alike," Jana replied, "I have way more awesome hair, although it does stick up a lot, and I'm smaller which is so annoying. Mummy and Daddy wouldn't have told Uncle Gerwyn and Auntie Ceri that we would be married someday if we were related."

Rhydian laughed, "You can't mention that kind of stuff to Jane. It's better if she think we're related, that way if anything goes wrong they'll be less likely to split us up."

Rhydian stopped outside of the room with the pink walls, which Jana assumed was supposed to be her bedroom. The walls were decorated with lilac butterflies and the bed was a large four-post one with thin sheets of pink material hanging all around it.

"I think Jane thinks you're a princess," Rhydian said amused, as he saw the stunned look on Jana's face, "You kept on muttering in your sleep about how you're an alpha's daughter."

"What's a princess?" Jana said, opening the door of a large white wardrobe and staring at the tons of clothes hanging inside.

"Like an alpha's daughter," Rhydian explained, "They live in castles. I've seen them in a lot of Disney movies."

Jana looked at him in confusion.

"I explained later," Rhydian said, "Maybe we could watch a movie later, after we go shopping."

"What's shopping?" Jana asked, as she looked at the titles of the books on the bookcase. She couldn't read them but they looked interesting.

"It's something girls like," Rhydian explained simply, "Now you need to get dressed."

"I am dressed," Jana answered, looking down at her faded yellow dress and her scuffed boots.

"You have to wear clean clothes," Rhydian said, "Humans are big on being clean, they're obsessed with it."

Jana screwed up her face adorably, "What do you think I should wear?"

Rhydian walked over to the wardrobe and pulled out a short sleeved blue top and a pair of shorts.

"That's what most girls wear," Rhydian said with a shrug, "Yeah I know it's weird, don't give me that look."

"Humans," Jana muttered under her breath, "I'll never understand them."

Minutes later was Jana was dressed in her new clothes, which she had to admit were very nice. She tried to brush her hair with a small brush she found in a cupboard - at least that was something the human world had in common with the wild- but it was difficult to use one handed when it got caught so often in her hair and she had to ask Rhydian to help her.

Jana had to admit that she liked the human world a little more than she thought she would, and deep down she worried if one day she might like it more than the wilderness and she might not want to return home.


	5. Chapter 5

Jana looked at her happy meal and wondered what idiot had named a burger, chips and milkshake a 'happy' meal. She couldn't remember anyone telling her that the animals were happy to be hunted, and whenever Aran had chased after the rabbits they had always look terrified. She wondered if chips and milkshakes were happy when they were hunted- she assumed that was how humans got chips and milkshakes- otherwise the 'happy' part seemed a bit weird.

Jana ate the burger quickly, not realise how much she missed red meat. The humans cooked their meat, which gave an odd but nice flavour and they stuck it in bread and covered in sauce which at first Jana thought was blood, until Rhydian explained that it was tomato ketchup.

The chips were odd too, Jana thought, they didn't taste like any animal she could imagine and when she asked Jane she had laughed, as she often did when Jana asked a question like that, and explain that they were vegetables- potatoes- that were grown underground. That made sense to Jana, when the pack had settled in an area for some time they decided to plant a few crops and Jana was glad to find out that many of the fruits and vegetables the pack grew the humans also liked.

The milkshake was odd too, it had a strawberry taste to it, but it didn't taste like real strawberries. Jana drank it too quickly and her head hurt, she wasn't expecting it to be so cold. Overall she decided that she did like McDonalds and wondered if Mummy and Daddy would let her come back here when she returned to the pack.

After the meal Jane took them to a small clothes shop where she told Jana and Rhydian to choose some clothes that they wanted to wear for playschool. Jana didn't understand why she needed more clothes when she already had so many but Jane insisted and Jana soon found that she was choosing out several brightly coloured garments- all dresses- and of course, asking Rhydian if he approved but he only ever nodded (he wasn't sure what he was supposed to say) which made Jana think he wasn't taking it all that seriously.

They then went to a toy shop were Jane gave them their pocket money and told them to buy whatever they liked. Jana didn't understand money but with Jane's help she bought some fizzy sour worm sweets (because even though wolfbloods didn't eat worms they sounded like the most natural sweets you could buy) and a foam sword (Jane gave her a worried look and suggested Jana might like to buy one of the dolls instead, but she didn't argue when Jana insisted that she wanted the sword). Rhydian bought a foam sword also (oddly Jane didn't give him any worried looks), but instead of the worm sweets he bought a bar of chocolate which he shared with Jana (who wasn't too sure about whether she liked it or not).

After they had finished shopping they headed home and Rhydian and Jana spent the evening fighting each other with the toy swords, whilst music blared out of the stereo in the living room. They had pasta for dinner, which Jana had to admit she would never like even if Rhydian did, and afterwards Jane told them it was bedtime and read to them- Jana wished she could read- before telling them to get a good night's sleep before playschool the next day.


	6. Chapter 6

The first thing that struck Jana and Rhydian was the number of children running around in the garden outside of the playschool. There must have been at least twenty or thirty- not that Rhydian and Jana could have counted to twenty or thirty at that time. They clambered over the climbing frames and played in the sand pit making little castles and sea monsters out of the sand. There were bicycles and scooters and swings and all other kinds of toys that Jana and Rhydian didn't have words for yet.

The other children looked at them strangely as they walked through the small gate into the garden- Stoneybridge playschool didn't often get new kids, most of the families had been there for centuries and the children's parents were best friends, and their grandparents were best friends too. The children eyed the cubs suspiciously but most of them just ignored them after a few moments.

There was one person who didn't however.

Sitting on a small pink plastic chair sat a little girl with chesnut hair and dark brown eyes; she stared intensely at the cubs, sniffing the air every few moments.

"Is she," Jana began to ask Rhydian "Is she like us?"

Rhydian nodded slowly, and took Jana's hand in his, "I think so. We need to be careful, wolfbloods can be obsessed about the territories-they might not like us being here."

"They're only tames," Jana said nonchalantly, "It's not like its Daddy. If a wolfblood came on the pack's territory, ooh, I could imagine what would happen. I'm sure she's a nice person, even if she's a tame and not a real wolfblood like us."

The girl growled at them.

"I think she heard you," Rhydian said, "You need to stop with the wild wolfbloods are better than tames and cowarers thing, you won't make friends like that."

Jana looked up at Rhydian her emerald eyes showing her confusion, "I thought we weren't staying here long enough to make friends."

"We aren't," Rhydian clarified, "But we'll want to avoid making enemies."

One of the teachers called out to the kids and they began to form a line outside of the classroom.

"What are they doing?" Jana asked laughing, "This is the silliest game ever."

"It's not a game, idiot," a Chinese boy said, turning around to look at Jana, "You're the Vilkas's foster kids aren't you?"

"So what if we are?" Rhydian said menacingly, he was taller and broader than the boy and Jana could tell that he was mimicking her father, trying to scare the boy.

"Did Mummy and Daddy not love you then?" the boy said mockingly and several of the other children laughed.

Jana growled at the boy.

"You're a freak," the boy said venomously, "Both of you are."

"And who are you?" Rhydian asked.

"Jimi," the boy replied, before pointing to the three boys behind him, "And they are Liam, Sam and Tom. Any trouble and we'll make your lives hell."

"Jimi," the boy called Tom began, "There's no need to be horrible to them."

"You heard her," Jimi argued, "Growling at me, she's a loony."

Jana felt anger rise within her and was sure that if she was old enough she would have turned into a wolf. She heard her breathing grow faster and faster despite Rhydian telling her to calm down. Jana briefly glimpsed the chesnut haired girl running towards them before she swung at Jimi. The boy wasn't expecting it, and he wasn't expecting to be hit so hard especially not by an injured little girl.

"Back off Jimi," the chesnut haired girl said as Rhydian pulled a protesting Jana away from Jimi.

"What wrong with you Maddy?" the boy asked, "I thought your lot hated strangers."

"We do," Maddy said, "But not as much as we hate you."

The children laughed as the teachers tried to establish order. One of them began to lecture Jana about how naughty she was, but Jana hid behind Rhydian and when she pretend to cry the teacher's expression softened and she stopped shouting.

Jana smiled as the teacher walked away, "Cowarers are so easy to fool. Hey, Rhydian, ow, what was that for?"

"Don't get in a fight with them," Rhydian said angrily, "And don't keep on calling them that. Don't call them cowarers or baldies. Otherwise you're on your own here. I don't need you causing trouble for me."

"Fine!" Jana yelled before stomping off to the back of the line.

"Your sister seems a bit wild," Maddy said suddenly, putting a comforting arm on Rhydian's.

Rhydian let out a quiet laugh, "You could say that."

"Do you like Stoneybridge?" Maddy asked, "My family's been here for over four hundred years."

"Wow," Rhydian said, "I thought my parents were old."

"You're funny," Maddy said grinning, "And cute. Do you want to play with me and my friend Shannon?"

Maddy pointed to a ginger haired girl at the front of the line.

"Yeah, sure," Rhydian replied feeling bad that he couldn't invite Jana to join them.

The morning proceeded normally- well as normally as it could with three wolfblood cubs in a classroom. Rhydian spent the morning drawing- which he discovered he was actually quite good at and playing camping with Shannon and Maddy. Jana, however spent the morning playing makeovers with three of the other girls- Kara, Katrina and Kay- they had dressed her up as a princess (which Jana didn't mind one bit, considering that she already thought herself one and had told them so) and everything was going well until they played tea parties and Jana found that little plastic cakes didn't taste as good as the real thing.

Around midday they all went into the dining hall where they had lunch. Rhydian had completely forgotten to give Jana any advice on what to ask for; he was absorbed in a conversation with Shannon and Maddy (he had to admit he thought Maddy was quite cute). It was only when Jana asked for raw meat and that he noticed her again.

"What are you some wild beast?" Jimi asked as Jana stared around in confusion.

"No, I just like raw meat," Jana answered simply, not understanding what they were laughing about.

"You're mental," Liam said, "Is that why your Mummy and Daddy abandoned you, because they were embarrassed by you? Because you're such a weirdo, Jana, thinking you're a princess and that you can act however you like."

"Yeah," Jimi added, "Is that why Mummy and Daddy abandoned you?"

"They didn't!" Jana yelled before slamming her plate down on Jimi's head. It shattered into several sharp pieces, one of which Jana clutched so tightly that it cut her hand. Jimi's head was bleeding badly but that didn't stop him hitting out at Jana. Jana was too shocked to fight back, and with her leg still painful at times it wasn't long until she lost her balance and fell. Jimi towered over her.

"You don't belong here, psycho," the boy said menacingly, "If you ever come back here we'll get you."

Jana's eyes began to fill with tears, why did everyone keep on saying that her parents had abandoned her? Surely they hadn't- or had they? They had been in the human world for nearly a month now; surely her Mummy and Daddy would have found her by now. Or maybe they didn't want to.

Jana looked up to see an angry Rhydian standing next to her, tears spilled down her cheeks. He had told her not to make enemies, she had let him down and it hurt her to see how much she had disappointed him. She curled herself into a ball and sobbed quietly.

"It's ok, Jana," she heard Rhydian say suddenly, "Everything will be ok."

"I let you down," Jana said between sobs, "You told me not to make enemies. Jane's going to send me away, isn't she, she already hates me."

Rhydian hugged Jana to his side, "No, she doesn't. She'll be angry about this, she'll probably shout at you a bit but I'll stand up for you. Those teachers know what happened, they're angry but they're more angry at Jimi, he shouldn't have said what he did."

Jana looked up at Rhydian, "Did Mummy and Daddy really abandon us? It's just it's been so long. I wonder if they've forgotten all about us."

"No, they haven't," Rhydian said reassuringly, "And we'll find them soon, if they don't find us first."

"I hope so," Jana replied as Rhydian helped her stand up. Her legs were shaking as she saw the teachers approach her. As Rhydian had said, they yelled quite a bit, telling her how disappointed they were and how she was a very bad girl- sometimes Jana felt like she could never make any of the humans happy. They bandaged up her hand and Jana secretly wished that she hadn't smashed the plate over Jimi's head because now both of her hands were injured and it was so much harder to climb the climbing frames.

Rhydian stayed by her side all afternoon, except for at nap time when Jana reluctantly allowed Maddy to sleep next to him (Maddy and Shannon might have been nice to her, but as far as Jana was concerned Rhydian was always going to be only hers). After that Jane arrived to take them home and once again Jana was lectured about how bad she had been, worst of all Jane told her that she was taking away the toy wolf Jana loved so much, and even when Rhydian protested and Jana cried loudly she still didn't change her mind.

Jana was miserable and Rhydian didn't know how to comfort her. They had both loved their new lives- their large bedrooms, McDonalds, the park, the toys- but deep down they both felt like they were betraying their families and the pack, Jana had often crept into Rhydian's room late at night and cried about how much she missed her parents, and although Rhydian hadn't cried (because boys, especially wolfblood boys, just didn't do that) he knew he missed his mum and dad. He knew that he had to get them away from Stoneybridge, it wasn't just Jimi's threats, and he knew they just didn't belong there.

That's why a smile crossed his face when he saw a flash of brown hair out of the corner of his eye.


	7. Chapter 7

Jana growled at Rhydian, trying to look as menacing as she could whilst wearing a bright pink tutu. She was beginning to question her decision to go to the Halloween disco as a werewolf ballerina.

She had originally chosen the outfit to rebel against Jane's decision to send her to ballet classes. She argued it would give Jana the chance to mend fences with the other kids, and Jana had confused this with fencing (which she had seen once on the TV) and was very disappointed when there was no fighting involved. Jane decided to stop the lessons after Jana 'accidentally' managed to kick some of the students in the face.

"Hold still," Rhydian said as he tried to paint the familiar wolfblood black veins onto Jana's hands. Her injuries had only completely healed a few weeks before and Jana felt happy knowing that it was one step closer to her and Rhydian being ready to run away.

"Do you think I look like Meinir?" Jana asked.

Rhydian laughed loudly, "You'll never look like Meinir."

"No," Jana clarified, "I mean, do I look like a grown up wolfblood?"

Rhydian nodded, "Yes, very grown up in your fluffy pink tutu."

Jana rolled her eyes, and crossed her arms, "Well at least I'm not going as a frog."

"It's a ninja turtle," Rhydian said with a sigh. He had wanted to go as Spiderman (especially as they had decided to go as Spiderman characters after watching the movie at Shannon's sleepover party- Maddy was going as Mary Jane and Shannon was going as Gwen Stacy) but the party shop had run out of costumes.

"Ninja turtle!" Jana shrieked waving her arms around exuberantly to show how ridiculous the idea was.

"Are you ready?" Jane asked in a flustered tone, looking after two three years olds was harder work than she had expected.

Rhydian and Jana both nodded before Jana grabbed her wolf toy (which once Jane had given it back to her had never left Jana's side) and they followed Jane out to the car.

Several groups of young children were walking along the pavement in their Halloween costumes, knocking on doors asking for sweets. The houses were decorated with ghosts and pumpkins (Jana wanted to learn how to carve one but Jane had refused to let her) and doors were covered in cobwebs and spiders.

"Now, you both make sure you're on your best behaviour," Jane said suddenly, "Especially you Jana, any more fighting and you won't be able to go to playschool."

Jana nodded sadly. Despite her first day of playschool being a complete nightmare and the fact that only Shannon, Tom and Maddy would speak to her, Jana had to admit that she enjoyed going there- she was beginning to learn how to read and write and found that she was a reasonable painter as well. Rhydian enjoyed playschool as well because it gave him a chance to pursue his interest in drawing.

"Rhydian look after your sister," Jane said to the little boy, "I'm sure after she speaks to the psychiatrist on Tuesday that she'll feel much better, but until then she needs looking after. Can you be a big boy and do that?"

Rhydian nodded not knowing what a psychiatrist was.

"I'm fine," Jana protested, "Now that my arms all fixed I can do anything."

Jane laughed as she pulled the car into the playschool car park; the noise from the disco was already audible, "That wasn't what I meant."

"What did you mean then?" Jana demanded.

Jane just smiled, "You don't want to miss the disco do you?"

Rhydian and Jana both shook their heads before jumping out of the car.

"I'll be back at seven," Jane called after them before waving goodbye.

Rhydian waved back but Jana stood still her cheeks red with anger.

"Jana, what's wrong? Don't be rude to Jane," Rhydian began, "Ow, Jana, don't step on my foot."

"Sorry," Jana said, "I just hate Jane. I heard her talking on the phone to woman she made me talk to last week- you know the one who's all weird and asked me about Mummy and Daddy- they think I'm crazy. The woman told Jane that I was a ski-zo-thingy and needed medicine."

Rhydian hugged Jana who he had noticed was starting to cry, "I'm sure she didn't mean it like that. Jane's just trying to help you settle in."

"Rubbish!" Jana yelled, "You've started believing all their lies. We're turning into filthy little cowarers, Rhydian; we're losing who we are- we need to go back to the pack."

"I know," Rhydian said, "It's just I like life here. I like living with Jane."

"I do like it here too," Jana agreed, "I don't like Jane much, especially now she wants us to call her Mummy. She's not my Mummy . But we've got to go home Rhydian."

"I know," Rhydian said, "But Northumbria is a long way from Wales, I asked Mrs Riley and she showed me on the map, she said it was a few hundred miles away. We've got to plan this out properly. We've got to get food and water and warm clothing too."

"We could run away tonight," Jana suggested.

Rhydian began to shake his head.

"No, listen," Jana began, "There's loads of food and drink inside. I say we go in, fill our bags with food, go to lost property and get some clothes and then we leave tonight. There will be tons of kids on the streets, so no one will pay too much attention to us, even if we don't have an adult with us. The path to the woods is only a street or so away, we could head up onto the moors after a while-once we're sure that we're far away and they won't be able to find us."

"Jana, you're a genius!" Rhydian said, kissing Jana on the cheek, "I know how to hunt fish, and Aran taught me how to hunt rabbits. It might take us a few weeks to find the pack but we'll get home."

Jana hugged Rhydian, "Well we'll do it then. Let's go and get everything we need."

"I want to see Maddy one last time," Rhydian admitted.

"Ok," Jana said, "It feels good to be going home."


	8. Chapter 8

Rhydian stared longingly at the brown haired girl in front of him. In his hand he held one of his most treasured possessions- a tiny blue stuffed toy bear.

He walked up to Maddy who was busy dancing with Shannon and Tom. She was completely absorbed in music, as were her friends. Out of the corner of his eye he could Jana darting quickly from one table to of food to another, she had found a couple of drawstring bags and they were nearly filled completely. She beaconed to him to hurry up before running out of the hall- probably to lost property to get the clothes they needed.

Rhydian tapped Maddy gently on the shoulder, the girl didn't jump- with her wolfblood super senses she had probably know he was there for quite a while. She followed him to the corner of the hall.

"What is it Rhydian?" Maddy asked. Rhydian thought she looked very cute in her Spiderman inspired costume.

"I wanted you to have this," Rhydian said, passing the toy to Maddy.

"This is brilliant," Maddy said before kissing Rhydian on the cheek, "Thank you, I'll always keep it close to my heart."

"Maddy," Rhydian began, "There's something I need to tell you. I'm going to be leaving Stoneybridge."

"Then I'll come with you," Maddy volunteered excitedly.

"No, you can't," Rhydian protested, "You can't leave Tom and Shannon, or your parents. You can't go where I'm going."

"Where you and Jana are going, you mean?" Maddy questioned, "You know you two don't act much like a brother and sister should."

"What do you mean?" Rhydian asked puzzled.

Maddy shrugged her shoulders, "I dunno. I'm an only child. It's just other people with their brothers and sisters and you two are nothing like that."

"Maddy," Rhydian said placing a hand on her arm, "You're right. Jana and I aren't brother and sister. We were taken away from our parents by mistake and now we need to find them again."

"But it won't be safe," Maddy began, "You'll get hurt."

Rhydian hugged the girl, "We'll be ok. We're wildies, we know how to hunt. We'll be fine."

"What if Miss Vilkas or the police find you?" Maddy asked, "You'll get in so much trouble."

"They won't," Rhydian reassured her.

"Rhydian, I'm going to miss you so much," Maddy admitted.

"I will too," Rhydian said, "When I'm older and no one cares who my parents are or where I live, I'll come back and find you and we'll live together forever."

"Even if Jana doesn't like that?" Maddy asked

"Even if Jana doesn't like it," Rhydian said, "But I'm sure we'd be ok, one big happy family."

Maddy smiled, "Goodbye, Rhydian. See you soon. Love you."

Rhydian waved as he watched Maddy walk away.

"Love you too," he replied.


	9. Chapter 9

"So we've got sausage rolls, pork pies, haribos, popcorn chicken, chocolate digestives, fizzy worms, chicken-sat-yay schooers, beef pasties, four large bottles of water and about ten Cadbury's dairy milk bars. Do you think that will be enough to get us to Wales?" Jana asked Rhydian as she passed him the heaviest rucksack. They were walking down a busy street only a few metres away from the entrance to the woods.

"What just in my rucksack?" Rhydian asked.

Jana nodded, "Yeah, mines gone pretty much the same stuff and there's blankets and jumpers and stuff in the other bag- I couldn't find as much as I wanted but I did find a flash light- and it works!"

"Jana, you're a genius!" Rhydian exclaimed, "We've got enough food for at least a week or so."

Jana took Rhydian's hand as they crossed the road; it was usually busy but at this time of night but there hadn't been any traffic for a good few minutes.

They ran towards the trees as quietly as they could before ducking behind the thick trunk of a tree.

"Where do we go?" Rhydian asked Jana.

"We need to distance ourselves from the entrance," Jana began, "I say we go east for a bit- it'll be the last thing they expect, then we head south at sunrise."

"Can you find your way in the dark?" Rhydian asked.

Jana looked insulted, "Can I find my way in the dark? Rhydian, I'm not a baby!"

"Ok,ok," Rhydian said.

Jana kneelt next to a muddy puddle before pointing east. Moments later Rhydian and Jana darted off using their wolfblood extreme speed to cover at least twice the distance an adult human could cover in the same amount of time. Soon the lights of Stoneybridge and the surrounding towns were miles away and Jana and Rhydian began to slow down to a walk.

Above them stars flickered in the night sky. This was what the cubs had missed the most about the wild- the little things that they could only see when they were in the woods. The things the human society had destroyed or eliminated.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Rhydian said.

"Yeah, it's amazing," Jana agreed.

"Jana," Rhydian began, "What do you think our parents will say when we get back home? Do you think they'll be mad with us?"

"Daddy will be," Jana said, fear evident in her voice, "You know how much he hates me running off. If I hadn't run off none of this would have happened. I'm sorry Rhydian, I really am."

"It's ok," Rhydian said with a reassuring smile, "We're going home now."

"You know," Jana began, "I'm really going to miss flushing toilets."

Rhydian laughed loudly, "You're obsessed with them."

"You're obsessed with central heating," Jana argued, "Come on; I'll race you to that big tree on the horizon over there."

"Ok," Rhydian said, "I'm going to beat you."

"Not likely," Jana said running after him.

BREAK***********BREAK*************BREAK

Blue and green flashing lights surrounded the school building and the adults ran backwards and forwards, their voices raised. A woman with brown hair stood next the cub as the police officer asked her again and again if she knew where Rhydian and Jana were. Of course the cub just shook her head.

Meinir had to admit, no matter what she thought about tames; they could lie well when they needed to.

She had found Jana and Rhydian's new home only a week or so ago, and she was sure that Rhydian had seen her that day in the playground however he hadn't approached her since. She was glad that it was Samhain- or as the humans called it Halloween- she had recently transformed for the first time and was still getting the hang of hiding her golden eyes and the black veins- at least tonight no one would care too much.

She used her wolfblood hearing to pick up on the conversations, trying to figure out where Rhydian and Jana were but she probably had more of an idea than the police. From what she heard she could gather that Jana had stolen a massive amount of food and a few items from something called 'lost property'. Meinir didn't put it past Jana to try to get back to Wales by herself, and with Rhydian there to chase away her fear of the dark; it was likely they would have covered a good few miles since leaving the party.

Meinir felt torn between the hope that they weren't too far away, so then she could catch up with them, and the hope that they were a good few miles away so that the police wouldn't catch them.

The police jumped into their cars and a few of the parents followed- they were forming a search party.

Now, Meinir had to ensure that she kept her promise to the pack.

She had to make sure that she brought Rhydian and Jana home.

BREAK***************BREAK***************BREAK

Jana sat next a spring hearing the gentle lap of the water over the rocks and not so gently nudged Rhydian awake. He jumped in surprise- Rhydian was an exceptionally light sleeper whereas Jana had always slept like death (something that took poor Aran a long time to realise and had resulted in many a night where he had run into Alric's tent yelling about a dead cub only to end up being yelled at for telling fibs).

"Good morning," Rhydian said before Jana passed him a packet of digestive biscuits- a big packet.

Rhydian stared at her in wonder, "How did you manage to get a whole packet?"

"They hadn't unloaded all the boxes of food," Jana said, "I thought it would be more subtle if I took one from the boxes."

"They've probably noticed we're missing," Rhydian said, "Would have noticed a lot later if you hadn't been so obvious."

Jana stuck her tongue out at Rhydian, "Wouldn't have bought us much extra time. Those biscuits should be enough for us until lunch. We'll have to ration out the food."

Rhydian laughed, "What to make sure we eat it all before we get home? You know how your Daddy will react if we bring human food back to the pack?"

Jana laughed, earning a quizzical look from Rhydian, "Sorry, it's just imagine Aran and Meinir eating those fizzy worms."

"Yeah," Rhydian laughed, "I remember the look on your face the first time you tried them."

Jana screwed up her face, "It's a shame we couldn't bring our toys with us. I think Daddy wouldn't have minded us bringing those swords we bought, even if he never would have let us keep the other toys."

"At least you have the wolf toy," Rhydian said.

"I saw you give your teddy to Maddy," Jana admitted, "You like her don't you?"

Rhydian nodded, blushing.

"You'll find her again," Jana said, "I can tell. And then you'll have two alpha females."

"I don't think it works like that, Jana," Rhydian replied, before sniffing the air.

There was a weird but familiar smell to the air.

Jana began to sniff the air too- it was definitely the scent of a wolfblood, she just hoped it wasn't Maddy's parents.

"Run," Jana said to Rhydian, eyes wide with fear. Moments later they darted off, still heading south. Jana wished she could uses Eolas, that way she could make sure she was heading in the right direction- at the moment all that had was the ivy and the sun above to show them where to go.

They tried to run as fast as they could dodging between the trees but the smell got closer and closer.

Soon a figure appeared beside them and Jana almost run into Rhydian as he stopped in shock.

"Meinir!" Jana and Rhydian yelled in unison before hugging the older girl. They had never been this glad to see Meinir before in their lives.

"I've been trying to catch up with you all night," Meinir admitted, "The police will never find us now. It seems you've been planning this for weeks."

Jana nodded, "Ever since I was in the hospital."

"What's a hospital?" Meinir asked in confusion.

"It's a place where sick people go to get better," Jana said, "Especially when they get hit by cars."

"Jana!" Rhydian yelled.

"Sorry," Jana said, "Just don't tell Mummy, she'll freak out."

"Oh, Jana," Meinir said, "I should have been there to protect you. You should have never got hurt."

"But I'm ok," Jana reassured her, "I haven't been hit by any cars since."

"That's good to know," Meinir replied with a smile, "Do you have any red meat I'm starving?"

"We've got sausage rolls and pork pies," Jana said, "They're made from pig, at least I think its pig, it tastes like pig. But we're having these for breakfast, they're really good?"

Meinir eyed the biscuits suspiciously. In later years she would blame her hatred of everything human on this very moment. She took a biscuit from the packet, and tried it experimentally before spitting it out into a nearby bush.

Rhydian laughed loudly.

"This is poison," Meinir announced, "They've poisoned you. I don't want your stinky human food. I'll hunt for my food like a normal wolfblood."

Jana stuck her tongue out, earning a swipe from the older girl.

"It isn't poison," Rhydian said, "It's nice."

"You've always been too human," Meinir replied, "You're nothing like a wolfblood should be."

Rhydian looked down at the ground glumly.

"Meinir don't be so horrible," Jana replied with a yawn, she had spent most of the night running and watching over Rhydian as he slept.

"Is my poor little cub feeling sleepy?" Meinir said in a mocking tone.

"A little," Jana admitted.

"Well if you two were old enough to transform, we'd get there in half the time," Meinir answered, before picking up the younger girl, "If you ever tell Aran about any of this. I swear Jana, I'll make you regret it. Right, Jana? Jana?"

But the little girl had already fallen fast asleep.


	10. Chapter 10

The brown haired girl knelt next to a small puddle. In her mind she could see the pack only a few miles off. They were going about their usual daily business. It reassured comforted Meinir. She had hated the two weeks that she'd spent walking back to Wales with Rhydian and Jana- she hated having to carry them when they got tired, having to eat human food and most of all having to listen to them talk about cub things. Meinir was no cub anymore and was at that stage where everything about cubs irritated her.

So she wasn't surprised to find herself even more irritated when Jana suggested they stopped at McDonalds before going home. They had found a ten pound note a few days before when they had reluctantly stopped in nearby town to steal some meat from a butcher. Whilst the human food had lasted for nearly the entire journey, they all craved proper meat and Meinir didn't want to leave the cubs alone to go off hunting.

They sat at a small table in the kids section waiting for the food to arrive. Meinir watched in horror as Jana and Rhydian doodled on the paper the waiter had given them. Jana's drawing look like a mess of red, yellow and green- which was supposed to be a wolf playing in a meadow- but Rhydian's drawing actually did look like a wolf- and Meinir silently admitted to herself that Rhydian was a very good artist.

The waiter arrived a few minutes later with their food. Meinir had ordered two burgers whereas Jana and Rhydian had both ordered happy meals. The staff had looked at them oddly when Jana had paid for the food instead of Meinir, but they weren't about to argue with her.

Meinir wolfed down the burgers in a few bites- some human food was actually ok, she thought- but refused to try any chips even when Jana shoved the rest of hers in Meinir's face and told her she had to try one. Meinir worried about Alric would say when she brought the cubs home and he found out that they were obsessed with the human world.

"I can't wait to see the pack," Jana said, wincing as the strawberry milkshake gave her brain freeze.

"Me too," Rhydian said, "Has much changed?"

"No," Meinir replied, "It's only been a couple of months. They haven't even moved territory."

"They were waiting for us," Jana concluded.

"No," Meinir answered, "They didn't expect me to return before they moved on. They weren't expecting you two to try to get back to Wales by yourselves either."

"They wouldn't wait for us?" Jana asked, eyes filling with tears.

"They aren't just going to do whatever you want all the time," Meinir began angrily, "You might be an alpha's daughter Jana but that doesn't mean we're your slaves."

"Meinir," Jana said venomously, "I hate you!"

"Feelings mutual," Meinir said, "You can't imagine just how much of a joy it's been spending these past two weeks with you and Rhydian. Best time of my life!"

Jana stuck her tongue out at Meinir before running off to the back of the restaurant.

"You shouldn't have said that to her," Rhydian said sheepishly.

"I'm sick of her thinking she rules the world," Meinir admitted, "If she hadn't gone running off none of this would have happened in the first place.

"You've gone too far Meinir," Rhydian replied shaking his head, before running after Jana.

BREAK**************BREAK**************BREAK

Jane had seen Rhydian running after Jana. She had expected them to turn up here, it was the town where she had originally found them and taken them to McDonalds. She didn't know who the older girl was; Jane suspected that she was their older sister.

Rhydian was hugging Jana, as the little girl cried.

"I know Meinir didn't mean what she said," the blonde haired boy said.

Jana looked up, "Rhydian."

"Don't be upset Jana," the boy continued.

"Rhydian!" she yelled, "Run!"


	11. Chapter 11

In fairy tale stories the prince always saved the princess. In wild wolfblood packs everyone worked together to protect the alpha and his successor- this included ensuring that the successor could protect herself.

Perhaps that was the reason why when Jane had tried to catch the cubs she only caught Rhydian. Jana darted past, kicking Jane in the shins, causing the woman to cry out in pain. As the alpha's daughter she had been taught how to fight before she could even speak, and with Meinir and Aran as her tutors she was more than capable of thwarting a cowarer, but the same couldn't be said for Rhydian. As the lowly cub of a beta-wolf healer he had been mostly ignored despite the fact that one day he would be Jana's mate.

Jana ran towards Meinir yelling for help but the older girl didn't react.

"Meinir!" Jana shouted across the restaurant, "Jane's here, she's got Rhydian!"

Meinir looked at Jana her eyes wide with concern, "Stay close and if any police turn up then you need to get out of here and run to the path into the wilderness. Do you understand?"

Jana nodded.

"This is the first and only time I will disobey an alpha's orders," Meinir said more to herself than to anyone else, "He told me only to return with you, Jana, he told me not to worry about Rhydian. But there is no way I'm going to leave him with a woman like her."

"Thank you," Jana said before grabbing Meinir's hand and running to keep up with the older girl.

"Let him go," Meinir demanded as she saw Rhydian struggling to get free from Jane's grasp.

"No," Jane replied, "What makes you think you have any right to tell me what to do?"

"Get your hands off of Rhydian," Meinir said, her eyes flashing gold.

"Your parents abandoned him!" Jane yelled, "They left him and his sister in the woods. They could have died."

"They wouldn't have died," Meinir argued, "I was only a few metres away, I would have protected them."

Jane laughed menacingly, "I bet your family couldn't look after a potted plant."

"Don't you dare insult my pack," Meinir said growling.

"All of you need psychological help," Jane said, "Especially Jana. She's obsessed with wolves, and now I understand why. Her family thinks they are wolves too. Do you not realise just how much damage you are doing to these children?"

"You have no idea just how much damage _you_ have done," Meinir answered, "You tried to destroy them."

"The police will be here in a matter of minutes," Jane said looking at her watch, "Maybe they should judge who is causing harm to these children. I'm sure they'll have something to say about you kidnapping them and dragging them hundreds of miles across the country."

"I was bringing them home," Meinir replied.

"They had a home with me," Jane stated.

"We never had a home with you!" Jana yelled, "Rhydian, say what the teachers told us to say about strangers, come on, Rhydian."

Meinir looked at Jana curiously as she looked intensely at Rhydian hoping he would understand.

"Help!" Rhydian started to yell, "Help! Stranger! This woman's trying to kidnap me! Help!"

The adults looked around the restaurant in shock as Jane tried to calm down the yelling boy.

Jane laughed, "Don't worry, my son had torrettes."

The adults went back to their conversations.

"Why didn't it work?" Jana said in despair.

"Jana Vilkas!" Jane began, "I've had enough of your tricks, young lady. The police will arrive soon and take you and Rhydian away but you'll never darken my doorstep again."

"Why do you hate me so much?" Jana asked as she began to cry.

Jane smiled, "You can't use tears to get what you want, Jana. You have put everyone through hell these past couple of weeks. Rhydian, I am most surprised by your behaviour, Maddy is very upset- she really misses you."

"Maddy?" Rhydian asked hopefully.

"Rhydian, don't listen to her, it's a trap," Jana replied hurriedly.

"If you're a good boy, I'll let you come back to live with me," Jane offered, "Then you'll get to see Maddy again."

"Rhydian, please," Jana begged, "You'll see Maddy again when we're older, I'll make sure of it. Rhydian, please."

"Carriad," Meinir said to Rhydian, "You have to come home with us."

"It's too late," Jane said, turning just as the police officers entered the building.

Rhydian used the opportunity to try to free himself but was unsuccessful. Jana grabbed for his hand trying to pull him away.

Their faces were covered in tears.

"I…will…never…leave…you," Rhydian said as he struggled to hold on to Jana's hand. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the police officers moving closer and close towards them.

"Never!" Jana echoed.

"Jana!" Meinir said, wrapping her arms around the cub, "We have to go!"

"No!" Jana yelled, "We have to save Rhydian!"

"I'm so sorry," Meinir said as she grabbed Jana.

Jana felt her hand slip out of Rhydian's.

"NO!" she yelled as Meinir ran out of the restaurant.

She heard Rhydian yell her name but it was too late.

She couldn't save him.


	12. Chapter 12

**JANA**

Seven years, eighteen weeks and five days.

Jana had counted every one of them but she still wasn't any closer to finding Rhydian. She thought about him every day, afraid that if she didn't she would forget him forever. She worried that one day she would wake up and forget what he looked like, forget the way he used to smile and laugh, the way he used to always protect her.

Jana stared solemnly as she sat at the top of an oak tree, most of the pack had gone off to hunt but she and her mother had stayed behind. She was supposed to be learning how to clean clothes and tidy up the tents but Arianne had taken one look at Jana's miserable expression and told her to go and play. She understood just how much Jana missed Rhydian, even though most of the pack had forgotten him long ago.

Jana could remember that day at the restaurant in vivid detail, like it had been etched into her brain. It was one of the few memories she had from her toddler years and one of only two memories she had of Rhydian. She wondered if he had found Maddy, if Jane had taken him back to Stoneybridge.

The days after Meinir and Jana returned had been some of the worst in Jana's life. Everyone had been happy to see her, especially her mother and father. Her father had changed a lot- he was far more patient with her and spoiled her even more. Her mother was the same as usual- glad to have her daughter home and safe, but understanding of the loss Jana had suffered.

Ceri had been miserable too. It appeared that Gerwyn wouldn't be returning at all to the pack and now she had lost her eldest son too. Bryn was born only a few months after Jana returned and she doted on him, hoping that by protecting and loving Bryn, she could somehow look after Rhydian too.

A shout from below brought Jana back to reality.

A black haired boy was throwing acorns at her, a large red smile on his face, his dark eyes filled with joy.

"Bryn!" Jana yelled at the seven year old, before clambering down the tree and jumping the last few feet to the ground.

"Meinir said to come get you," Bryn said, "She said she wanted to give you a present before your first rite of passage. Are you nervous?"

"Why would I be nervous?" Jana asked, "I'm an alpha's daughter, I don't get nervous."

"But it is a _huge_ ritual," Bryn said, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, Bryn," Jana said rolling her eyes.

"I wish Rhydian was here," Bryn began, it was almost his catchphrase.

"Me too," Jana said. Deep down she was actually nervous about the rite and would have liked to have Rhydian there by her side to reassure her.

"What do you think he's doing right now?" Bryn asked.

"I dunno," Jana replied, "He's probably at school."

Bryn screwed up his face, "School? But isn't that for baldies?"

"Yes," Jana admitted, "But Rhydian will have to go to. He lives with the humans now and they think he's one too."

Bryn nodded in understanding.

They had reached a clearing where Meinir and Aran and several other young wolfbloods stood. Meinir looked excited as she saw Jana. A sinking feeling filled Jana's gut as she realised what Meinir's 'present' was likely to be.

"Sorry," Bryn said sheepishly before darting away.

How could he be so different from his brother? Jana thought with a sigh, Rhydian would have never done anything like this.

"So our little cub is nearly full grown," Meinir began, "Aww! Isn't that adorable?"

The group laughed.

Jana growled, allowing her eyes to turn gold.

Aran laughed at the cub.

"Shut up, Aran!" Jana yelled, "Haven't you got a rabbit to torture?"

"Not yet," Aran admitted, "I didn't want to miss the action."

"Broidier," Meinir announced, "Broidier."

Jana rolled her eyes, "You can't usurp me, I'm not an alpha."

"If I win, I will take your place as successor," Meinir announced.

"There's no laws that say that," Jana protested, "Come on, Meinir. We all know that's a load of bull."

"Ooh," Meinir teased, "Who's a naughty little cub? Where did you learn that bad language from?"

"You," Jana answered.

The group of teenagers laughed.

"All right," Meinir began, "All right. You win, there's no law. I'm challenging you to a fight- if you win you get to lead this little gang. We'll teach you everything you need to know about how to be an amazing alpha. The best there ever was and ever will be."

Jana scoffed, "And if I don't win?"

"Then I'll lead the gang," Meinir said, "And when you're alpha you'll get no support from any of us."

"Meinir, this is stupid," Jana said, "If my Dad finds out you've been starting up the gang again he'll send you to the Kronock. If he finds out you threatened to disobey your future alpha, you'll probably be exiled along with Aran."

Aran growled at Jana.

"Go maul a squirrel!" Jana yelled at him.

"Go maul a squirrel, seriously?" Meinir asked amused, "You definitely need my help. And all you have to do is fight me, or are you too much of a chicken?"

Jana laughed, "I know you won't hurt me, if you did my Dad would drag you up to the Kronock faster than you could bay at the moon."

It was true. None of the young wolfbloods were allowed to hurt Jana when they fought her and only Meinir and Aran were allowed to defeat her.

"Well Daddy's not here now is he," Meinir said, gesturing around her, "Tonight you will undergo your first rite of passage. It's time to grow up and learn how to fight with the big wolves."

"Good," Jana said.

Meinir began to circle the younger girl, laughing as she watched Jana try to size her up. She was stronger than Jana and more muscular. Jana had always been very thin and small, and although she was fast, Meinir had always just been a little faster.

"No wolfing out, ok?" Jana said, not taking her eyes off of Meinir. She knew a moment's distraction would be all it took for Meinir to win.

Meinir laughed, "I can't make any promises."

"Oh, so you have to wolf out to defeat a skinny little ten year old," Jana said mockingly, "Wow, you really out of practice aren't you, Meinir?"

The older girl growled at the cub, "How dare you?"

Meinir charged at Jana surprising her with her speed but Jana dodged her before trying to hit her across the face. Meinir blocked her, punching Jana in the stomach and winding her. Jana knew she would have serious bruises there later. Jana jumped at Meinir knocking the girl to the floor before punching and kicking at her but Meinir caught her foot and threw her off balance. Jana felt the back of her head slam into the grown and saw stars. Meinir towered over her, her nose bleeding.

"Submit!" the older girl yelled, the rest of the group echoing her.

Jana pretended to be crying.

"Does the ickle cubby-wubby want a cuddle?" Meinir mocked, flicking her long brown hair behind her shoulder.

Jana pounced at the older girl, punching her in the jaw but it was Jana who ended up yelling out in pain. The gang laughed.

"I think we'll leave it there," Arianne said, appearing suddenly, "Call it a draw shall we, Meinir? Wouldn't want Alric to hear about this now would we?"

Meinir gulped, her eyes filled with fear.

"Come on now Jana," Arianne said, placing an arm around Jana's shoulders, "We need to get you ready for the rite."

Moments later they both sat in Jana's tent as her Mum tried to pull leaves out of Jana's hair. A difficult task any day, but even worse when Jana had been fighting- which was pretty much every other day.

"What did Meinir want this time?" Arianne asked.

"She offered to let me lead the gang," Jana began, "And told me she'd help me become a good alpha. If I won, of course."

"And if you lost?" Arianne asked.

"She said she wouldn't support me at all," Jana admitted, "To be honest, I think she just wanted to beat me up for putting beetles in her steak last night."

Arianne stifled a laugh, "Why did you do that?"

"She called Rhydian a cowarer," Jana explained.

"Jana," Arianne began, trying to drag a brush through her daughter's hair, "Was it really worth it? Getting beaten up, getting a broken hand. Was it really worth it? I know how much you love Rhydian but you need to look out for yourself too. Meinir can be nasty when she wants to be, she knows how to wind you up."

"I know," Jana said, looking down at her bandaged hand. Ceri hadn't been impressed to hear that Jana had been fighting again, but she was sure that her aunt wouldn't have nagged so much if she knew that Jana had been defending Rhydian.

"Come on now," Arianne said, "We've got to get you ready for the rite."

**RHYDIAN**

****Three schools, five suspensions and six foster homes.

He was still yet to find someone who could throw a proper punch.

In the back of his mind he thought he could vaguely remember someone who could. But he brushed that thought away. Girls couldn't fight, that was just a ludicrous idea.

He swung his legs backwards and forwards allowing his boots to drag along the carpet. The headmaster looked less than impressed.

Rhydian supposed it hadn't been totally worth it, especially now that he had been excluded.

Permanently.

No doubt he would be packing his bags again tonight. Heading off for another house, heaven knows where.

Maybe I could run away again, Rhydian thought, he'd run away before- once when he was three and once when he was five.

He wasn't running away to his family- they had abandoned him when he was a toddler, two or so apparently- but something kept on telling him to run north or west and he had no idea why.

Somewhere deep inside of him he felt that there was something deeply wrong with. That he was a freak. That he belonged somewhere far far away from this dingy school, and the simple two-up-two-down that had been his home for the past two months.

He just didn't know where.


	13. Chapter 13

**JANA**

The first drops of snow had begun to settle on the frozen ground and she could feel the cold biting wind surrounding her.

The pack was gathered before her and her father, sitting in a tight semi-circle and looking anxious at their alpha. Jana was about to take a her first rite of passage- her first challenge on the path to being accept as the future leader of the pack.

She could feel her breathing becoming faster and her heartbeat racing. She knew she was shaking but tried to hide her nerves from Aran and Meinir who would only bully her about it later on. She tried to avoid looking at them but was aware that Meinir was up to something- probably betting on whether the cub would pass or fail the rite.

Everyone knew that the rites were difficult and even deadly sometimes. Jana was sure that her father wasn't going to make her do anything too dangerous, after all she was his only child, but she knew he would challenge her to something that would test both her physical and mental strength. To test the qualities that she would need as an alpha.

She was aware of her mother standing next to her and felt something slip into her hand.

"Dol-drink," Arianne explained, "Ceri and I thought you might need some. It'll help you focus and control you nerves."

"Thank you," Jana said before opening the bottle. The mixture smelt vaguely of lemon and sage, and reminded Jana of a cold remedy she had once had.

"Only one drop," Arianne said.

Jana drank from the bottle surprised to find that it also tasted a little of lime.

"The rite of Twaltan," Alric announced, "The most important rite that a young wolfblood heir will ever undertake. Tonight we will honour the Gods by showing them that we have raise a strong and healthy cub who will one day rule and honour them too. Tonight we will show them that we are grateful for the heir they have provided us with and that we have taken good care of her to ensure that she will become a great leader."

The pack cheered and Jana saw Meinir roll her eyes at the great leader part. She was sure the older girl was jealous that she would never get to take part in the rite of Twaltan.

"A great leader needs to protect the pack," Alric continued, "A great leader also needs to understand the way the pack thinks. The rite of Twaltan will be split into two tasks- both requiring immense physical and mental strength. If Jana passes both tasks then she will be granted her heart's desire and our pack will be safe."

The pack cheered again and began to beat their wooden stick together in excitement.

"Does that mean that Dad will find Rhydian if I pass the rite?" Jana asked.

"Yes," Arianne said, "If you passed the task he would have to give you whatever you want."

Jana beamed with happiness. All she had to do was pass the task and then Rhydian would be able to come home.

"I'm glad to see you're so excited," Alric said to his daughter, before embracing her, "Good luck."

"Thank you, Dad," Jana replied.

"The first task," Alric began, turning back to the pack, "Will test Jana's ability to hunt. A few nights ago a small herd of deer entered our territory; Jana's task is to return with one of the deer before dusk tomorrow. A leader needs to be able to hunt and provide for the pack and this task will test that quality. Do you accept?"

"I accept," Jana answered.

"The second task will determine whether or not Jana understands the pack," Alric continued, "As leaders we often have to make difficult decisions. A leader must be able to punish those who were once his most loyal allies but must not punish needlessly. For this reason, the second task will involve Jana being sent to the Kronock for three days and three nights- no one will bring her food or water, if the Gods will it she will drink rain."

The pack was silent and Jana stared at the ground not wanting to see the look of horror on anyone's face. Whilst Jana was sure she could complete the first task (she was a natural hunter and although she had never caught anything larger than a hare, she was sure a small deer shouldn't be too hard) she was petrified of the second task. She knew that the only thing that would get her through the rite would be Rhydian.

She followed her father to her tent. He stopped outside the door.

"Father?" Jana enquired.

"Do you still have the bow and arrows that you made?" her father asked hurriedly.

"Yes," Jana replied.

"Good," her father said, "I thought you did. You should use them to hunt the deer."

"But won't that make the task too easy?" Jana asked.

Her father laughed, "No, Jana. A leader should use all resources available. If you can build weapons then you should use them. Good luck."

Jana hugged her father.

"Carriad," her mother said, her eyes glistening, "Keep yourself safe."

"I will," Jana said.

BREAK**********************BREAK**********************BREAK

Jana cussed under her breath and she stood a few metres away from the herd of deer. Her plan to catch a small runty yearling had failed. The herd was large- roughly thirty of so animals- there was a large stag with antlers at least a metre in length and incredibly sharp and two smaller stags who would be equally as difficult to take down.

Jana focused in on a small female deer that stood some distance away from the herd, grazing on one of the remaining patches of grass. She drew the bow back, praying to the Gods that she would be successful but as she loosened the arrow she knew that it was going to miss the deer.

The herd flew into a frenzy as they became aware that they were under attack. Several of the deer ran towards Jana, in particular the large stag. Jana was aware that she was in danger of being trampled so pulled herself up into the lower branches of the tree just as the first deer ran by.

She caught her breath before aiming again at the deer but they were moving so fast and soon would be too far away. She loosened an arrow, hoping that it would distract the herd and make them run back past her.

The last thing she expected was for the arrow to hit the large stag.

The animal cried out in agony as Jana jumped down from the tree. The rest of the herd were several metres away and moving further and further away with each passing second.

Jana fired two more arrows, putting the stag out of its misery.

The she realised she had a problem.

At little over four foot, Jana was tiny for her age. She also was very skinny and didn't have the same physical strength as the other young wolfbloods. She wondered if she would fail the task if she howled out for help. Her father had said that her task was to kill and return with any of the deer, but surely she could ask the pack to help her. There was no way they were going to expect her to carry a stag carcass the mile or so back to the pack.

Jana let out a small, high pitched howl and heard a reply moments later. She could hear the snapping of branches and see figures moving through the dark woods.

After a few minutes she could see her father and mother running towards her with Ceri, Meinir and Aran following behind them.

"Jana," her mother said in panicked tone, "You haven't been hurt have you?"

"No, Mum," Jana reassured her, "I managed to hunt one of the deer, the only problem is it's a little heavy for me to carry back by myself. Do you think Dad will let the rest of the pack help?"

"Cheat," Meinir whispered so only Jana could hear.

"Where is this animal anyway?" Aran demanded.

"Follow me," Jana said as she walked the few metres to where the stag lay dead.

"There's no way she killed that animal," Meinir protested, "It must have already died and Jana must have just fired a few arrows at it to make it look like she killed it."

Aran nodded in agreement.

Alric knelt next to the stag, "It's a good thing you're not my heir Meinir. This stag had clearly only been dead a few minutes. I'm proud of you, Jana. I wasn't expecting this."

Arianne hugged her daughter. "Looks like Rhydian will be coming home soon," she whispered to her daughter."

"Well at least we'll have a good dinner tonight," Aran admitted and Jana thought that maybe he was showing her just the tiniest amount of gratitude.

"She cheated," Meinir said, "She should never have used those bows and arrows."

"A good leader uses all resources available," Alric said, "That's what Jana did. She has passed the first task. The second task will commence tomorrow morning."

Jana let a sigh of relief knowing that she was one step closer to seeing Rhydian again.

**RHYDIAN  
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"For the fifteen billionth time I hate football!" Rhydian yelled at the team captain before turning back to the picture he was drawing.

"What is netball more your kind of thing?" Mason taunted, pointing at a chattering group of girls standing on the netball court.

"Drawing," Rhydian replied simply.

"What are you drawing, Rhydian?" Jessica asked, throwing her long platinum blonde hair behind her shoulder and grinning exuberantly.

"Get the hell away from me," Rhydian said, pushing past his classmates.

"Don't you love me Rhydian?" Jessica asked.

"Sorry I prefer brunettes," Rhydian replied, though not quite sure why he had just said what he did.

BREAK***********BREAK************BREAK

Rhydian could hear an owl hooting outside his window. He sick of this town- it was the same small old town all over again. The same girls who smelt of chemicals, the same football crazy boys, the same old bullies. Nothing ever changed, but Rhydian knew that he was. He knew that something had changed for him.

Images flashed through his mind of a brown haired girl and her red haired friend. He had no idea who they were; his foster parents certainly didn't know them. He could also vaguely remember that there was someone else who was like a sister to him but he didn't remember her name- all he knew was that she had caused a lot of trouble.

He smiled to himself, the girl sounded a lot like him.

He folded the last few clothes into his rucksack before jumping out of his bedroom window. Social workers are stupid, Rhydian concluded, they shouldn't place runaways with families who live in bungalows.

Rhydian smiled to himself before running off into the darkness.


	14. Chapter 14

**JANA**

Jana had never been this hungry or thirsty before in her life. Her arms and legs had been tied tightly to the large stone rock- the Kronock- and could feel that her hands had gone numb from lack of movement and the cold.

Her mother had tried to bring her food and water, and so had Ceri, but her father had shouted at the both of them and had made Aran and Meinir guard them to stop them from sabotaging the rite.

The second task would be completed the following morning and Jana was looking forward to the feast that would follow. She tried not to think about the meat that was being prepared or the fresh water that was being collected. It had rained once but only for a few minutes and that felt like years ago.

At least she wasn't alone.

Rhydian stood before her, his blonde hair glowing in the moonlight. He waved at Jana and smiled at her.

"I guess you must have really annoyed your father," the boy said.

"No, it's the Rite of Twaltan," Jana explained, although it hurt to speak.

Rhydian moved towards his friend and tried to untie the ropes.

"No," Jana said, "I have to stay here until morning."

"Then I'll stay with you," Rhydian replied.

Jana smiled as she looked at the small three year old boy who had always been a brother to her.

**RHYDIAN**

Rhydian rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he sat at the bus stop in a town that he had only been to once or twice. The sun had just risen above the horizon and was blinding him slightly, but light kept him awake.

He had run all night and now was a good twenty or so miles from his foster home. He didn't really care too much about where he was going, expect he wanted to make sure he was heading north. He had barely enough money for the bus to Newcastle and from there he would just have to hope that he remembered his way back to the brown haired girl.

The bus pulled up at the stop and Rhydian climbed on showing his ticket to the driver.

He settled in a seat next to a large window and fell asleep.

For the first time in a long while he felt like he was going home.


	15. Chapter 15

**RHYDIAN**

When he woke up the sun was high in the sky and the snow had that had settle the night before had turned to slush. He dragged his boots through the slush until he reached a nearby newsagents. He knew as a frequent runaway that his picture was unlikely to be in the paper but he wanted to check to make sure- if he was in the paper then he could avoid places where people were likely to recognise him.

A quick flick through the papers showed nothing and he breathed a sigh of relief. He grabbed a Mars bar and a packet of ready salted crisps from a nearby stand and went to the checkout. A crackly old TV was turned on to the news channel; a grey haired balding man was talking about a group of travellers in a Welsh wood who had minimal contact with other human beings. Rhydian felt his heart begin to pound as something deep inside of him stirred. His mother had been Welsh apparently- not that she mattered to him anymore, what kind of person left their two-year old son alone in a woods?

But something about Welsh travellers stuck in his mind and an image of the red haired girl flashed before his face. Who was she?

"Are you going to pay for those?" the cashier asked.

"Yes," Rhydian said quickly before tossing a few coins at the cashier.

He took the food and was about to leave before he asked, "How far is it to Stoneybridge?"

"Only a few miles," the cashier said, "You need to get the 12A bus from the station. Visiting family?"

"Mum just wanted to know," Rhydian lied, "Her friend moved there and we're staying for the weekend."

"Well, you have a good weekend," the cashier replied, her eyes narrowed in suspicion, "Don't keep your Mum waiting now."

"Thank you," Rhydian replied smiling. It was so easy to fool adults, that's how he'd found his social services records and found out about Stoneybridge- he guessed that was where the brown haired girl lived but there was no mention of the red haired girl in any of his files.

Rhydian walked off merrily not realising the cashier hadn't been fooled.

**JANA**

Jana devoured her fourth chicken drumstick, thanking the farmer who had been foolish enough to turn his back long enough for Aran to catch the small birds. The rite of Twaltan was over and her father had presented her to the pack as their official heir. The feast had taken place straight after, which was just as well because throughout the announcements her Mum had to stop her from passing out.

"You know it was only three days and it did rain?" Meinir began, a thin smile gracing her lips.

"Father says a good leader keeps herself strong and well fed," Jana replied curtly.

"Well that's good then," Aran added sarcastically, and ate what was left of a rabbit carcass.

"Just remember I know about the gang," Jana said in hushed tones, "I could make my father exile the both of you if I tell him that's my heart's desire."

Meinir laughed, "Except you'll never do there. You'll never abandon your poor Rhydian."

Jana blushed and began to walk away "Well at least I care about him. You just abandoned him, Meinir. And as for you, Aran- you didn't even bother to help."

"Always so melodramatic," Aran said with a sigh, "I hope Arianne gives Alric more cubs- preferably more agreeable ones. I think most of us would prefer the spare to the heir."

"I heard that!" Jana yelled as Meinir and Aran laughed.

Jana walked to her parents' tent and was surprised to see that her father was glowing with happiness and that her mother was as equally happy. What was going on?

"Jana," Alric began.

"Tell her later," Arianne interrupted, "She's come to ask for her heart's desire."

"Of course," Alric said with a smile, "What will it be?"

"I want to bring Rhydian back home," Jana blurted out, "I want you to bring him back to the pack."

Her father rolled his eyes, "Surely you want something better than that."

"No," Jana protested, "It's all I've ever wanted."

"You know that's true, Alric," her mother said, "And there is the betrothal to also think about. She's technically still betrothed to Rhydian. Are you really happy to let her marry Bryn?"

"Ew, gross!" Jana yelled screwing up her face.

"I could betroth her to the heir of another pack," Alric replied, "I think we may have rushed into the betrothal a little too soon."

"It was a good choice," Arianne argued, "Ceri and Gerwyn have always been loyal members of the pack. Do you really want Jana to marry someone with their own agenda, who will end up tearing the pack apart?"

"No, of course not," Alric argued, "And might I remind you that Gerwyn abandoned the pack to work for that company, Segolia. Ceri has been unwaveringly loyal but the same can't be said for that tame traitor."

"So bring Rhydian back and the whole matter will be settled," Arianne suggested.

"Of course," Alric said, "But who will go after Rhydian?"

"I will," Jana volunteered.

"No, you need to remain here," Alric demanded.

"But, he'll definitely remember me. I know he will," Jana protested.

"Jana," Alric answered more harshly, "Your place is here as my heir. Rhydian will return and you will be married immediately."

"Yes!" Jana cheered, "Thank you Dad."

Alric and Arianne smiled.

"I'll find him," Arianne said.

"Are you sure?" Alric asked concerned.

"I'm sure," Arianne reassured him.

**RHYDIAN**

Stoneybridge.

It had been a little over seven years since he'd last been there. All around him people were going about their daily lives. Children ran around in the playground, looking forward to the imminent weekend. The adults stood outside the café chatting and looking at clothes in a nearby charity shop.

Rhydian approached the café, Bernie's.

The man inside had grey hair and wide chocolate brown eyes. He was talking to a tall woman with short curly dark hair and eyes the colour of coal.

"I think it's a great thing you're doing Mrs Vaughan," the man said, "Taking in those poor children. Giving them a proper upbringing."

"It's a shame that there aren't as many people considering fostering," the woman replied, "It's a joy to see the children so happy."

"Well, good luck, I'm sure it will all work out," the man answered.

"Thank you," the woman said before leaving.

"How can I help you?" the man said before turning to Rhydian.

"My mum's visiting a friend for the weekend," Rhydian began, "She told me that I'd gone to playschool here before moving to the city. I was wondering if you knew a dark brown haired girl who used went to the playschool. She'd be roughly my age; she used to hang around with a ginger haired girl. Apparently we were good friends."

Bernie's eyes grew wide with shock, "Rhydian?"

"How do you know my name?" the blonde haired boy asked.

"Rhydian?" A familiar voice said, "What on earth are you doing here?"


	16. Chapter 16

**RHYDIAN  
><strong> 

Something about being in a police station gave Rhydian a strange sort of déjà vu. It wasn't the first time he'd been in a police station and he doubted it would be the last however this time something seemed to eat away at his insides. He wondered if it had something to do with the memories that has been reappearing over the past few months- he'd asked his old foster mother about it and she said it was probably related to stress he had suffered in his early life. That didn't make sense to Rhydian; he couldn't ever remember being stressed out that badly- certainly not to the point of suppressing memories.

He fidgeted in his chair earning reproachful looks from the police officer on duty. He didn't care what she thought, everything she thought about him was wrong. She didn't understand who he was or what he'd been through. She probably had a perfect life in comparison to his. She didn't have a gaping hole inside of her that she needed to fill.

Rhydian let out a sigh, his social worker would be here soon and then he would be off to another family or another children's home but it would be the same thing all over again- yet another place that would never be a home.

The moon had risen only a few minutes before and was glowing, almost full. Something inside Rhydian told him that a full moon was important but he couldn't quite figure out why. Anyway, the moon was beautiful, Rhydian admitted reluctantly- only girls were supposed to like things like the moon or flowers.

Rhydian knew that you were supposed to wish on a shooting star, but he'd never seen one and never thought he would, so he decided to instead wish on the moon and hope that he would finally find a place that he could call home.

**ARIANNE**

Arianne had never left Jana alone for more than a few hours and that wasn't without questioning her about where exactly she was going and who with. The idea of leaving her cub for two weeks was painful, even if it was for Jana's sake that she had left in the first place.

Arianne could remember the day that she'd returned from hunting to find a crying Meinir who told her that Jana and Rhydian had been taken by a human woman. Arianne and Ceri had cried themselves to sleep each of the ninety seven nights that Jana and Rhydian had been missing. When Meinir brought Jana back, Arianne had been overjoyed to be reunited with her daughter but she knew that Ceri was distraught and even little Bryn, just baby at the time, could sense something wasn't quite right. Alric had forced the pack to move territory only a few days after Jana returned and refused to let Ceri leave to find her son, saying he needed to think about the whole pack's needs. Arianne had slapped him so hard it had left bruises, but it made him compromise- they would bring Rhydian home just before his first transformation.

At least that was the plan, until Jana had asked for Rhydian to return home. Arianne knew Jana would ask for him. Jana had never gotten over the loss of her best friend, no matter how much Ceri and Arianne encouraged her to hang out with the other cubs, or made Bryn play with her. Jana had changed a lot since returning to pack; she was quieter and wanted to spend a lot of time alone- it was almost as if Rhydian had taken a part of Jana away with him when he disappeared.

Now Arianne was going to return with Rhydian and she would at last have her old daughter back.

Arianne let a loud howl of excitement as she saw the 'Welcome to Stoneybridge' sign only a few yards away from the police station.

She had finally arrived.

**RHYDIAN**

He had just finished wishing when he heard the howl outside. It seemed very close. A small part of Rhydian wondered if in some quirky way his wish was coming true, but he brushed off the idea. Unless he was going to run away with stray dogs or something like that, then it meant nothing at all.

Still that didn't stop him creeping out of the door when the police officers' back was turned. He was already in enough trouble, sneaking off for a few minutes wasn't likely to cause him too much of a problem.

He looked around outside and saw how the moonlight shimmered on the leaves of the nearby woods. He hated the woods now, though he couldn't quite remember why. It confused him, he liked being outdoors but just not in woodland- it didn't make much sense to him.

He looked around him for a dog but found none. The street was oddly deserted apart from one lone figure standing only a few metres away from him, staring at him intensely.

Her clothes were worn and dirty and her bright red hair was a tangled mess with several leaves sticking out of it. Her emerald eyes sparkled with recognition. There was something familiar about her; she looked so much like the scarlet haired girl in his memories. Surely, this wasn't her mother.

"Rhydian," the woman said in a strong accent, as she approached him, "Is that you? You've grown so much since the last time I saw you."

"Who are you?" Rhydian asked, stepping back, "How do you know my name?"

"I'm your Auntie Arianne," the woman explained, "I've come to bring you home. Your Mum and Jana are waiting for you to return."

"My Mum abandoned me in a wood when I was two," Rhydian replied angrily, "Good mother don't do that. I don't want to talk to you or my Mum or whoever Jana is. You'll just hurt me."

"That's not true, Rhydian," Arianne said sympathetically, "Don't you remember Jana? You two were so close when you were toddlers, practically inseparable. She misses you so much; she wants to see you more than anything in the world."

"I don't care!" Rhydian yelled, "I don't remember this Jana you keep on going on about. I don't care if she misses me or wants to see me. I'm not going anywhere with you."

"Is Jane a good mother to you?" Arianne suddenly asked, "Does she take good care of you?"

"I don't remember a Jane," Rhydian admitted, "But I've read about her. From what I've read I was better off without her, I ran away and then she said she didn't want me."

"Rhydian," Arianne said, eyes glistening with tears.

"I don't want your sympathy," Rhydian snapped, "Care kids get abandoned all the time. That's just how it works."

"We won't abandoned you," Arianne replied, "I doubt Jana will let you leave her side."

Rhydian bit his lip, "Does Jana look a lot like you? Messy red hair, emerald green eyes, always arguing and getting into fights."

"You do remember her!" Arianne said happily. Jana would be thrilled.

"I only remember that about her," Rhydian admitted, "Jana. It's finally good to know her name, I was wondering who she was."

"Well come home and you'll get to meet her," Arianne replied.

"Do you know someone with straight brown hair, dark brown eyes? She was the same age as me."

Arianne shook her head, "No, Rhydian. I'm sorry. There was girl who looked a lot like the one you're describing. Meinir. But she's ten years older than Jana and you."

"I need to find her," Rhydian protested, "Then I'll go with you and meet Jana. But I have to find this girl first. I know she lives somewhere in Stoneybridge."

"Then I'll go with you," Arianne agreed, "We'll talk to her and then we'll go home."

"Then we'll go home," Rhydian said smiling.


	17. Chapter 17

**RHYDIAN  
><strong> 

The young boy knocked on the front door of the cottage. Small plumes of smoke were erupting from the chimney and the weather eroded bricks showed that the house was hundreds of years old. In the small garden there was a large brown shed and a set of doors that probably lead to a basement. Through the windows he could see a young girl playing with a Lego set, building a large house out of the little coloured bricks whilst the TV in front of her blasted out a kids TV show.

Arianne stood behind Rhydian as he gazed through the window. She wouldn't admit that she was bewildered that tames decided to live in a place like this, however she thought that if she were tame she wouldn't mind living like this too much- it seemed oddly cosy.

A woman with dark brown hair opened the door and regarded Rhydian curiously with her chesnut coloured eyes.

"Hello," Rhydian said nervously, "Is Maddy in?"

"Yes," the woman said, "She didn't tell me that any friends were coming over. Who are you?"

"Oh, I'm new to the area," Rhydian said hastily, "Mum and I popped into the school early and they said I was going to be working on a project with a girl called Maddy. I asked at the café and they said you lived. I thought it might be good to get to know her better."

Arianne smiled, "I'm sorry if this is the wrong time. It's just it was be nice if Rhydian knew someone before he starts school. You know- a friendly face on his first day."

The woman smiled, "Of course, I understand. It's just I already know Rhydian. He was Maddy's friend at playschool. He ran away with his sister and then he was placed in foster care. I don't know who you are but I seriously doubt you are his mother."

Arianne looked at the ground.

"Please let me see Maddy," Rhydian begged.

"I can't," the woman said, "She doesn't know who you are, she doesn't remember you and for now it's best that way. Your home is not in Stoneybridge, Rhydian. You need to contact your foster parents; they'll be worried sick about you."

"They already know I ran away," Rhydian said glumly, "I'm not staying in Stoneybridge anyway. It would be nice to see Maddy before I leave."

"I can't let you do that," the woman insisted, "Her life is here, I don't want her running away with you or anything like that. Because that's what will happen, you and your sister were trouble."

"My sister?" Rhydian asked puzzled, "I don't have a sister. Do I Arianne?"

"No," Arianne replied, "Not really."

"See what I mean about trouble," the woman replied, "I won't have Maddy mixed up in all of it."

The woman closed the door and Rhydian and Arianne stood in silence.

Rhydian felt tears well in his eyes. One day he would find Maddy, he promised himself that.

He began to walk away from the house but something in the window caught his eye.

At least she had kept his old teddy bear.

**JANA**

"Where is it?!" Jana yelled as she rummaged through a large canvas bag almost falling into it as she rummaged through her possessions, "Seriously, Meinir, you've gone way to far this time."

"Problem?" Meinir asked, raising an eyebrow, "I heard someone shouting."

"Yeah, you want to know what I heard?" Jana replied angrily.

Meinir rolled her eyes.

"You screaming like a baby as my father sends you to Kronock," Jana answered.

"What's it this time?" Meinir asked, "You're always losing things."

Jana went back to rummaging through the bag but it still wasn't there. She didn't know what she'd do if she couldn't find it. She'd go mad with grief, probably end up miserable forever…

"Are you looking for this by any chance?" Meinir asked, as she pulled the wolf toy out of her pocket and held it high above Jana's head.

"Give that back!" Jana said trying to growl.

"Hey Aran," Meinir said to her brother who was watching from nearby, "Did you hear a cub whimpering?"

"Not yet," Aran said excitedly.

"If you want this disgusting toy back so much you'll just have to fight me," Meinir said, "Your Mummy's not here to protect you and Auntie Ceri and Daddy are off hunting now aren't they? And your precious Rhydian isn't here to hold your hand."

Jana growled at the girl, "Don't you dare talk about my family like that."

"Aw," Meinir said, "It would be so unfortunate if you lost this little toy. Then you'd have nothing to remember Rhydian by now would you?"

Aran laughed.

Jana swung at Meinir, her fist connecting with Meinir's jaw. This time she didn't break her hand, and even though she knew it would be sore the next day, she was glad to see that she had left a mark.

"You little cowarer!" Meinir cursed as she dropped the toy and retaliated.

Soon the fight had become more and more brutal and Jana was glad to see that for the most part she had the upper hand. Meinir was limping slightly whereas Jana only had a few scratches on her face and arms.

But she could tell that Meinir wasn't going to play fair.

The older girl's veins had turned black and her eyes were a bright yellow, her nails had turned into claws and her teeth were sharper and longer. Jana knew that this was no kid fight anymore. Meinir had crossed the line- never before in any of their fights had Meinir wolfed out. Even when Jana had been forced to train with Meinir and Aran as her tutor, they had been under strict orders only to fight her in human form.

Now she wished that she had just calmed down, Meinir wouldn't have kept the toy forever- she would have likely thrown it away or damage it somehow. But after a little mending it would have been good as new.

"Meinir," Jana said, "I think this is a little stupid. I mean fighting over a toy."

But it was too late.

A large wolf stood before Jana, growling murderously at the young girl.

"Meinir," Jana repeated before the girl swiped at her.

**RHYDIAN**

"I'm not going with you," Rhydian said suddenly to Arianne.

"But we agreed," Arianne protested, "You'd see Maddy and then return with me."

"No," Rhydian said, "I can't abandon Maddy."

"She isn't allowed to see you," Arianne explained, "But you won't have that problem with me. You'll be allowed to see Jana whenever you like."

"You're Jana's mother?" Rhydian asked.

"Yes," Arianne confirmed, "I was your aunt when you live with us."

Rhydian felt something tug at his chest. He felt as if his heart was being cut in two. A part for each girl that had once meant so much to him.

"I can't abandon Maddy," Rhydian said, "I slipped my address through her letterbox as we were leaving. The address for my old foster family. I heard the police talking to them. I think they'll take me back."

Arianne looked at the young boy, she could see how much this was tearing him apart. Having to make the choice between Maddy and Jana had probably been one of the hardest things he'd ever done in his life.

"Tell Jana I'll see her soon," Rhydian said as he hugged Arianne.

"I will," Jana's mother replied.


	18. Chapter 18

**JANA**

There were two things Jana could hear when she finally woke up- her favourite lullaby and someone howling in pain.

Groggily, she tried to sit up but a pain shot through her right side and someone placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't even think about it," her aunt said, looking at Jana sternly, "You need to stay still- I meant it."

Jana laid her head back against the pillows with a defeated sigh. Only then did she notice her mother was sitting next to her.

"Mum!" Jana yelled happily, trying as hard as she could not to throw her arms around her mother.

Her mother was back… that could mean only one thing.

"Mum, where's Rhydian?" Jana asked.

**RHYDIAN**

Rhydian looked up at the windows that were dotted along the front of the stately home. He couldn't understand why they'd sent him to a residential school in Cornwall- especially when he had only a few months of primary school left.

"Try to behave," his social worker said without preamble, "This school is for boys like you who like to play truant and are mischievous, it should hopefully sort out your problems."

"I don't have problems!" Rhydian yelled, grabbing his bags from out of the car. He was sick of this; he hated how social workers always put the blame on him for all of their poor decisions. They chose to put him with foster families where he didn't belong. Worst of all he knew that there was no chance that Maddy would ever find him here and with the awful bus service that ran once a day, there was no chance of running away to find her either.

It looked like the next few months would be awful.

Unless, Rhydian thought with a smile, he pretended to be a good little boy and that would stop him getting sent to a boarding school when he attended secondary school the following year.

The headmistress appeared at the front door and walked swiftly towards Rhydian, he heels clacking on the pavement. She shook his social worker's hand and then, rather annoyingly, kneeled down to look Rhydian in the eye.

"You must be Rhydian," the headmistress said, "Welcome to St. Lennox's School for Boys. I hope you'll like it here."

"Of course I will," Rhydian began, earning a questioning look for his social worker, "I'm sure it will be a great place to live."

"It must already be having an effect on him," the headmistress said shrugging her shoulders as she spoke to the social worker.

"Be careful with him," the social worker said, "He's run away thirteen times since he was placed in foster care as a toddler. He's also gotten into a lot of fights."

"I'll be better behaved here," Rhydian reassured the adults, "I promise."

**JANA**

Jana cried loudly as Arianne stroked Jana's hair and sung the lullaby to her, the way she used to when Jana was a little baby.

"He said he would come back for us," her aunt said. Although Ceri felt upset that her son hadn't decided to return to the pack she understood why he'd made that decision- he was too young to leave the human world without being discovered, it would risk the pack too. Also it sounded as if Rhydian had his own pack that he was now a part of and that made Ceri hope that Rhydian was being looked after by his own kind. Still it was difficult for Jana to comprehend that- as far as she was concerned, Rhydian had chosen another girl over her.

"Why did he choose her?" Jana said sobbing, ignoring the pain that occurred every time she took a deep breath.

"Because he loves her," Arianne explained.

"Doesn't he love me?" Jana asked.

"Yes of course," Arianne said, trying not to betray the uncertainty in her voice. Rhydian didn't remember Jana all that much but from what she could gather she suspected that a part of Rhydian did still love her daughter.

"And he will come back," Jana said, her sobs becoming quieter.

"Of course he will," a voice said, and moments later Bryn entered the tent, his hair damp with rain, "He'll definitely want to meet his little brother."

Jana smiled.

"I found this outside," Bryn said passing the wolf toy to Jana, "I'm sorry that it's gotten all muddy, but at least Meinir and Aran didn't destroy it."

Jana clutched the wolf toy to her chest, grateful that she still had something to remember Rhydian by. She wondered if thing would ever go back to the way they were before.

"Thank you," Jana said.

"It's ok. Anyway," Bryn began, "You don't need to worry about Rhydian anymore. You're going to have brother all of your own."

Jana looked at her mother questioningly.

Arianne nodded, "You're going to have a little brother or sister."


	19. Chapter 19

**JANA**

Aran stared at the small girl who was singing quietly to the crying baby in her arms. No matter how many cubs the pack had he would never quite understand why girls found them so adorable. Even Meinir had gone all soppy again- but he had to wonder if that was just her reaction to being sent to the Kronock. His sister didn't respect Jana, of course, but she was becoming far more wary of the cub.

"You know in the human world," Aran began, "Male children become heirs. You should be glad you were born a wolfblood, Jana."

"I am," Jana replied, still looking at her little brother, "But I never thought you were such an authority on human history."

Aran made a retching noise, "It was you who told me that. I would never go out of my way to learn anything human."

Jana smiled as Pedr wriggled in her arms; he was big for three months old and Jana had no doubt that when he was older he would be as big as her father.

"I bet you're wishing they named him Rhydian," Meinir said, poking her head around the door of the tent, "Or can no one ever replace lover boy in your eyes."

"You do realise Rhydian is coming back soon," Jana began, "Then you'll have to put up with us being all romantic. I know how much sentimentality gives you hives, Meinir."

"Well at least he'll be a real wolfblood," Meinir said, as she kneeled next to Pedr. The cub screwed up his face until his face turned red, and then started to cry loudly.

"Yes," Jana mused, "I have a feeling that Pedr will be a very good wolfblood, definitely a very smart one. He already knows who his enemies are."

Meinir growled at Jana, who smiled mockingly.

"I can agree with that," Alric said under his breath as he appeared at the entrance of the tent, "Jana, your mother needs to see you and your brother immediately."

Jana looked confused but followed her father's orders, trying to calm Pedr as she walked into the small clearing that was their camp.

Immediately she could tell something was wrong.

Four pairs of golden eyes stared at her from a rocky outcrop. One wolf was silver white, another larger wolf was a russet brown colour and the other smaller wolves had coats the colour of straw. They all growled menacingly at Jana's pack as they huddled together in the middle of the clearing.

Jana knew immediately that it was a rival pack come to take away their territory.

Jana held Pedr under her coat and hastily dashed to where her mother stood on the outskirts of the group. Jana knew that she could easily die here, and that if she died her brother would likely die to, but she still wanted to protect him from the wolves. She knew it was ridiculous, the other pack would wipe out her family before taking over her pack- they wouldn't let any potential usurpers live.

"I'll take him," Arianne said, trying to show her nerves, "Do you still have that bow and arrow set?"

Jana nodded.

"Run," Arianne whispered to her daughter and Jana sprinted off immediately to the small hollow of a large oak tree.

She was glad she had buried her bow and arrows so close to the clearing, even if had meant that Meinir and Aran would have been more likely to find and destroy them. They saw weapons as human inventions- a backwards idea that Jana would contest when she became alpha.

Jana was back at her mother's side in a matter of moments.

"Fire when I tell you to," Arianne whispered, "How many arrows do you have?"

"Roughly twenty," Jana said taking a deep breath, "And I've been practicing every day."

Jana watched as her father walked towards the wolves, still in human form. The silver coloured wolf transformed into a tall grey haired man, and moments later a brown haired woman also stood next to him.

"Your pack has disgraced my pack," the man began, "A member of your pack has brought shame on my heir. She must decide which pack she will swear allegiance to."

Jana let out a sigh of relief- it didn't look like they were here to tear everyone to pieces.

"Will right the wrong committed," her father reassured the man, "Who is it that has disgraced your pack?"

The woman pointed towards Arianne, "She has."

Jana's mother bit her lip, and hugged Pedr tightly.

"I'm sorry Alric," her mother began with tear stained eyes.

Her father face was filled with rage and shock, "A part of me always knew. Always suspected it- ten years with no other children and then suddenly you feel pregnant. How could you do this Arianne? You know what will happen now."

Arianne nodded, "I knew there was going to be risk of me and my son being exiled."

Exiled, Jana thought with absolute horror, what would she do if her mother was exiled? She would have to remain with her father; she knew that much, but what if he met another woman and had a heir with her- surely Jana would be exiled too.

"I can't exile you," Alric said, "Your crimes outweigh exile. You will be sentenced to the Kronock for the next month. After that you will released to this pack and it will be up to them to decide what will be a suitable punishment for you."

"Alric, please," Ceri said cautiously, "I know it's a shock. But you need to calm down, think rationally. You'll sentencing your wife to death."

"I have no problem with the terms of our agreement," the silver haired man said.

"No!" Jana yelled, too shocked and miserable to cry, "Father, you can't do this!"

"I am your alpha Jana," Alric said venomously, "I will do as I please and I will not listen to the whines of any little cub, do you understand?"

"Perfectly," Jana replied, looking her father straight in the eyes with equal anger, "But you will have to understand that if you follow through with this, then I will go and live with Rhydian and you'll never see me again."

The rest of the pack looked at each other in shock; even Meinir- who Jana could tell was slightly impressed by what she had just said.

"You would betray your kin, just like your mother!" Alric shouted.

"No, and you would still have your heir," Jana explained.

Alric laughed, "He's no son of mine. Besides, he wouldn't survive a day without his mother."

"Well maybe that says it all," Jana said, "You can't kill Mum because you need an heir, and if you do this you'll lose both me and Pedr."

"I could remarry, and exile you," Alric replied. But deep down he knew he never would- Arianne was the love his life and this was the worst betrayal he had ever suffered. There's was no way he was going to lose Jana too, even if she looked and acted like her mother at times. She was the only person he had now. Arianne and Pedr were strangers to him; Jana was the only one he knew completely.

"You wouldn't, she's only a cub," Meinir protested, "Even I think that would be too cruel."

"Well today is full of surprises," Alric said with a grin, "I never thought you were capable of so much compassion, Meinir. I've decided to repeal my decision, Arianne and Pedr will be exiled- it will be up to their new pack to decide the appropriate punishment."

Jana stared at the ground miserably; she would never get to see her mother and brother again.


	20. Chapter 20

**JANA**

**Two years later**

Two wolf statues were placed upon a mound of grass that was the tradition amongst wolfbloods.

That was how they marked their graves.

That was how Jana knew that there was no going back. Her father wasn't going to be able to forgive and forget. He wasn't going to take in Pedr as his own child.

Because now there was no Mum and no Pedr.

They were both gone.

Never coming back.


	21. Chapter 21

**RHYDIAN- Age 14**

He was surprised that it had worked out at the school. He hadn't expected the adults to be so easily fooled- but he guessed that they just wanted to see the best in everyone; after all the school was there to give boys like him a second chance.

But what had surprised him more was that his social worker had given him a second chance too. He had spent three years with a foster family in Yorkshire, and although they had funny accents and the kids at school still fit the usual stereotypes, it almost felt like a home to him. In the back of his mind he knew there was somewhere he was supposed to be going and a woman who was expecting him to leave this home for somewhere else, but that no longer mattered to him. Going to counselling had made those memories that had haunted his childhood begin to disappear- he knew there were two important people who had been in his life, but he no longer wanted to remember anything about them. He just wanted some stability.

That's why he was so unnerved at how unstable he felt at that moment. Every part of him was shaking and his jaws ached, his head felt like it was being split open- everything was brighter, louder, and more apparent. He had always know that he was different from everyone else- a little faster, a little more sensitive to the world around him- but he had tried to deny. He didn't imagine it would be something like this.

He looked down at his hands as an adrenaline rush flew through him. His veins were black as night and his nails were claws. He glanced in the mirror and saw that his eyes were bright yellow and he had similar veins on his neck and face. But more shockingly, he had teeth like those of a wild dog.

Like a wolf, Rhydian thought.

He had never believed in werewolves or vampires- he hadn't even believed in Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy when he was young. He hated fairy stories. But now he wished he had paid closer attention- because now he knew the reason why he was so different.

He was a werewolf; the weirdest thing was he didn't even remember being bitten.

He felt an energy flow through him and he knew what he had to do.

He flung the windows open wide and jumped out onto the grass in front of his house.

Then he ran, the full moon beaming above him.

**JANA- Age 14**

She stared up at the full moon and this time she could hear it almost calling her, telling her things that before she was too young to understand. She knew tonight she would transform for the first time and she was filled with excitement. She had waited years for this moment, to finally be an adult not a cub, to be able to learn Eolas and Ancian.

Best of all she knew there would celebrations the following day. Her father would insist that they celebrated his heir's first transformation. A part of Jana wished that her Mum and Pedr were there with her. It had been a year or so since the pack had been told they'd died. Jana didn't hate her father like she thought she would, he had spared her mother from death and expected that the other pack would have followed his lead. Jana knew her father was the only family she had now, and that had made them closer over the years- they only had each other to rely on.

At least until Rhydian returned.

And he would return soon, Jana knew it. Ceri had promised that she would try to find him once he was old enough to transform, and her father had given Ceri permission to look for Rhydian. He said, in a brief show of empathy, that he understood what it was like to have his family taken away from him and that he regretted not being able to have them back in his life, he wasn't going to make Ceri go through the same thing.

Jana wondered if Rhydian was transforming too that night. If he had already transformed before or if this was his first time too. She suspected that he had started transforming months ago- he was always so much bigger than her, and six months older too.

She looked around her as the pack relaxed before the night ahead. They would stay up all night- running and playing in the woods, sometimes they would hunt too.

"I wish I was transforming tonight," Bryn complained, "I hate being left behind."

"Well at least you have the other cubs to keep you company," Jana said, pointing towards a small baby that was perched on the knee of one of the pack's healers.

Bryn screwed up his face in disgust.

"Suit yourself then," Jana said smiling, "If I wouldn't complain too much. You know what it's like the day after the full moon- the pack comes back with way too much food, and then sleeps for the rest of the day. You'll be able to get the best food before they even notice."

Bryn smiled, "Good luck."

"Thanks," Jana replied.

Meinir waved over to Jana, who looked at the older girl suspiciously. There was no way Meinir was being friendly.

Meinir waved again but this time more impatiently, "Come over here and join the adults," she yelled.

"Go on," her father said suddenly appearing at her side, "Meinir doesn't bite- well not that often. Anyway I'd always planned for you two to be like sisters."

"Sisters?" Jana asked shocked.

"Yes, I'll look after my little sister," Meinir said putting an arm around Jana's shoulders, which Jana brushed off immediately.

"Meinir, seriously!" Aran yelled, "Why are you trying to hug the cub?"

Meinir shook her head in irritation, "Never mind. You always were one limb short of a whole carcass."

"Since when?" Aran asked.

Jana rolled her eyes, "You're never going understand that saying are you?"

"Sorry didn't quite hear that cub," Aran replied.

"Boys," Meinir and Jana said in unison.

"Was there something you wanted to talk to me about?" Jana asked.

"I wanted to apologize for being so mean to you," Meinir replied, "Don't give me that look, I mean it Jana, I'm sorry. I was just worried that you would put the pack in danger- that you would destroy our way of life when you became alpha. I knew how much you clung to your memories of the human world- I should have realised that was because of Rhydian, and only because of him."

"I don't actually remember much of the human world," Jana admitted, "I was so young at the time. I don't think it was as good as I thought it was at the time. I prefer the wilderness."

"Only an idiot wouldn't," Meinir said.

Both girls looked up at the full moon and knew that things would be different from now on.

**RHYDIAN- Age 14**

He had never fallen asleep in middle of a road before, and he never wanted to again.

He became aware of a police car only a few metres away from him and a policeman towering over him.

Great.

He had hoped that he would make it back to his foster family's house before they noticed his absence. But now there was no chance of this.

What could he say? He could hardly tell them he'd changed into a werewolf now could he?

He knew what he'd have to say- it's what they would have guessed anyway. He knew he didn't want to be seen as another one of those troublesome teenager foster kids but he didn't have an option now.

"What happened to you?" the police officer asked impatiently.

"I was at a party," Rhydian said with a yawn, "I must have drank too much and fallen asleep on the way home."

The police officer shook his head, "Just get in the car."

BREAK*****************BREAK****************BREAK

He stood outside of his new home.

Stoneybridge, he remembered that name from when he'd run away before. He was surprised they had let him move back here.

"I think we've always taken the wrong approach with you," his social worker said, "We've always been so quick to punish you when you ran away or misbehaved. We always moved you from one place to another without really thinking about it. The Vaughans and I have decided that it would be good for you to come back to the town when you first lived all those years ago. They think this was the first place you ever called home and that's why you kept on running away here."

Rhydian nodded, "I always knew there was something about this place."

"Your sister doesn't live here though," The social worker said.

"I don't-" Rhydian was about to protest, "Where does she live?"

"We don't know," the social worker said apologetically, "She went missing when she was very young. We managed to find you but we never found her. I'm sorry, Rhydian, but it's unlikely you'll ever see her again."

Rhydian nodded in understanding. Even though he knew there was someone who he was supposed to pretend was his sister, he had long forgotten why or even who she was. He had supressed those memories, and counselling had somewhat helped him to do that. Part of him wanted to know who she was, but a larger part of him just wanted to get on with his life. Two years and he'd be free to do whatever he wanted and never have to answer to anyone.

Then he would be finally be able to live the life he wanted.


	22. Chapter 22

**RHYDIAN**

He hated school- but Bradlington High was probably the worst school he had ever been to. He watched as the teacher flicked through some papers before handing him his timetable and a map of the school. He saw a group of three girls who were looking at him like love sick puppies. At the back of the room a group of boys all gathered around the Asian boy talking about last night's football match. On the other side of the room sat a ginger haired girl who was reading a textbook intensely. He thought he remembered her from somewhere.

A few seconds later another girl and boy entered the room at sat next to the ginger haired girl. The girl stopped momentarily and Rhydian thought that she was sniffing the air.

"This is Rhydian," the teacher said, "Who is from Wales?"

"I'm not Welsh," Rhydian replied- how many times were people going to say that.

The class burst out laughing and then started making sheep noises- brilliant.

"You smell like my parents," the brown haired girl said, looking at Rhydian suspiciously.

No it couldn't be.

He knew her; somehow he knew that this was the girl he had been looking for his whole life.

He would have to check to be sure but he was almost certain.

It was Maddy.


	23. Chapter 23

**JANA**

She couldn't believe what Ceri was telling her, most of all she couldn't believe that she had returned alone.

She had left the pack only a fortnight ago to find Rhydian, and she had found him, but he'd refused to go back to the wilderness with her. He said his place was in Stoneybridge.

"I'll just have to go to Stoneybridge then," Jana concluded, "I'm sure he still remembers me."

"No you can't," Ceri protested, "Your father will never let you leave."

"I always run off," Jana argued.

"That's why your father has asked me to keep an eye on you," Aran said appearing out of nowhere- an annoying habit of his, "He knows you'd go after Rhydian."

"Maybe I could persuade Rhydian to come back, if I was given the chance of course," Jana said angrily.

"I'm sure Rhydian will see sense," Ceri said, "I'm sure he isn't happy in the human world- even with his tame wolf friend."

"What?" Jana asked, "No, he can't have…" The way that Ceri spoke indicated that Rhydian and this other wolfblood were more than just friends. She hoped that it wasn't true- she especially hoped that it wasn't the same girl who had been good friends with her and Rhydian.

"What wrong?" Aran asked.

Jana shook her head, "It's nothing."

Aran raised an eyebrow, "Oh, that's why you're turning green."

Ceri laughed quietly.

"I am not jealous," Jana growled.

"Never said you were," Aran replied, raising his hands in mock surrender.

Bryn watched from only a few metres away- wondering why he hadn't been included in the conversation, why his mother had told him to go look after the cubs. He knew his brother had refused to return home and `he could see the pain on everyone's faces.

He couldn't believe his brother had been so selfish and hurt his mother like that. He knew he was going to have to do something about it.

He grabbed a bag from back of his tent and took a few large chunks of meat from a nearby bowl and then he set off to find his brother.

Ceri knew what Bryn had done, but she was still angry with him. He was still a young cub- only twelve years old. He couldn't look after himself.

Alric had been furious, he believed that Bryn had deserted the pack, but Ceri had managed to convince him that Bryn was just being a foolish cub. He had allowed her to go after him on one condition.

She wouldn't be allowed to return without Bryn _and_ Rhydian.


	24. Chapter 24

**RHYDIAN **

"I'm not getting married to anyone, Bryn!" Rhydian said for the fifteenth time in five days.

He had decided to go and live with his mum and brother and the wild pack, it had been the hardest decision in his life. He had hated leaving Maddy, Shannon and Tom and he knew he'd have to find a way to see them again- even if the wild pack hated humans and tame wolfbloods. But this was where he belonged- with his loving mother and his irritating brother.

"Yes, you are," Bryn insisted, "Alric always planned on you marrying his daughter- it was arranged the day she was born."

"Well it can be unarranged," Rhydian argued, "I'm fifteen, I'm not marrying anyone."

"Fifteen is old enough to marry," Bryn replied, "Most wolfbloods are married around the age of thirteen. What is it with humans and marrying when they're elderly?"

Rhydian laughed, there was always going to be a gap between human and wild wolfblood traditions, but he had never expected it to be this much of a culture shock for his and his family.

"Look," Rhydian began tactfully, "Is there any way I can get out it?"

Bryn shook his head, whilst Ceri looked contemplative.

"Flattery could work," she began, "Sometimes when you don't want to do what an alpha decrees you have to give him a better option. In this case you'll have to also show him and his daughter that you respect them- they could take your refusal as an insult."

Rhydian rolled his eyes, "Ok, what do you suggest?"

"An offering," Ceri said.

"Yeah!" Bryn agreed excitedly, "Uncle Alric loves rabbits- that's why he's always sending Aran out to hunt them. I'm not sure about Jana though- she likes all types of meat- you'd have to get her something really special."

"Sour worms," Rhydian said instinctively, earning puzzled looks from Ceri and Bryn, "I think she likes sour worms."

"There is no way that a wolfblood would eat worms," Bryn said with absolute disgust, "I knew Jana was a bit weird but…"

"Not real worms, Bryn," Rhydian said laughing, "They're a type of human food."

"You can't bring human food back to the pack," Ceri replied in horror, "They'd see it as sacrilege."

Rhydian nodded, "So what can I get her?"

"Just get her a dead animal," Bryn said, "Girls love that."

Rhydian nodded slowly, "Yeah, they can't get enough of…erm… dead animals."

Ceri laughed, "There are some human things that Alric would allow. Jana has always wanted to learn to read and write properly. Alric said it might come in handy if we run into any humans- he won't allow you to give her human paper. But you could offer to teach her."

"But I thought the plan was to stop Jana marrying him?" Bryn said, "She's already got a huge crush on him, you don't want to make her even more insufferable."

"I didn't even think she'd remember me," Rhydian admitted.

"You are going to be in for a massive shock," Bryn said, "All I ever here her talk about is Rhydian this, Rhydian that. When's Rhydian coming home? What do you think Rhydian is doing right now?"

"She sounds a bit scary," Rhydian replied, "It's going to take a huge offering to calm her down."

"You'll have to get her a lot of dead animals then," Bryn said.

"Alric doesn't mind human clothes," Ceri suggested, "It's far more convenient than making them all the time."

"Ok," Rhydian knew that girl liked clothes; Jana couldn't be too different from most girls- and maybe he would be able to sneak in a couple of packets of sour worms anyway.

Hopefully then he wouldn't have to marry anyone.


	25. Chapter 25

Jana saw Rhydian long before he saw her. Using Eolas she could see that he was less than a mile away and was overwhelmed by excitement. She couldn't stand still, and began to pace backwards and forwards. Would he remember her? What would he be like? He had certainly changed a lot since they had last been together. She hoped he would be happy to see her.

"What's wrong with the cub?" Aran asked Meinir, "She's got that funny look on her face again."

Meinir laughed, "I think we know why."

"You mean," Aran began, startled, "You mean he is actually going to live with the pack?"

"No he's going to live with a tree," Meinir said sarcastically, shaking her head, "Honestly Aran I worry about you sometimes."

"Can you shut up?" Jana said, "He's almost here."

"Dread hour is nigh," Meinir replied.

"I wonder if he did get your love letters," Aran said, "Then again if he did, I doubt he'd be so eager to come back."

Jana grimaced. The love letters hadn't been one of her smarter ideas.

Roughly a year before she had run away to a human town and stolen some paper and tried to write a letter to Rhydian. Of course she knew she couldn't write properly, but she thought that it was still understandable. She had put Jane's address on the envelope (or what she could remember of Jane's address) and hoped that the letter would reach him- the woman had said that she would take Rhydian back. Her father had been livid when he found out what she'd done and had punished her severely for endangering the pack's values- but Jana felt it had been worth it.

Now she doubted that Rhydian had received the letters, and she was sort of glad. Some of the content had been a bit too romantic.

Jana watched as Rhydian, Bryn and Ceri approached. It was only Meinir's arm on hers that stopped her from darting towards them and throwing her arms around Rhydian. Gods, how she had missed him!

"Calm down," Meinir said to her, "You don't know if he remembers you. He's lived in the human world for so long, it's going to take him some time to adjust to our ways."

"I wonder if he likes hunting," Aran said.

"Is hunting all you ever think about?" Meinir asked.

"Yeah, pretty much," Aran admitted.

Alric appeared next to Jana.

"I'm sure you've been waiting for this day for years," he said to his daughter, "But try not to be disappointed when he doesn't live up to your expectations."

Jana grimaced- was she the only one who believed in Rhydian?

"Alric," Ceri and Bryn said in unison, kneeling before their alpha. Rhydian copied them moments later.

"Welcome back," Alric greeted them, "I'm glad you've finally seen the light, Rhydian. This is where you belong."

"Rhydian is glad to be home," Bryn said loudly, "However he has had a few issues dealing with one of the conditions of his return."

Alric nodded in understanding, as Rhydian looked at his brother in confusion before realising what the cub was on about.

"When you're older you'll understand these matters more thoroughly," Alric said to Bryn, "For the time being a decision doesn't need to be made. We must allow Rhydian to adjust to our way of life before we discuss the situation in more detail."

Bryn nodded, eagerly trying to impress his alpha.

"We brought you an offering," Rhydian began, "I didn't want to offend you."

Alric looked hungrily at the meat, "We shall have a feast tonight to welcome Rhydian home."

Jana smiled happily as the group disbanded, going about their everyday work. She didn't mind that Rhydian had refused to marry her, she knew they would be together for many years now- she didn't mind waiting for him to be ready.

She saw recognition spread across his face as she approached him.

"Jana," he said grinning, before hugging her.

"You remember me?" Jana said, delighted at the idea of being in his arms.

"I always remembered you," Rhydian said.

Jana felt her heart flutter, he had remembered her for all of those years.

"Thank you for bringing Rhydian home," Jana said to Ceri, as she hugged her.

"It's the least I could do," her aunt replied.

Jana turned to Rhydian, "Do you mind if we go somewhere private?"

Bryn's eyebrows shot up, earning an elbow in the side from Rhydian. Ceri tried to not laugh.

"Bryn!" Jana yelled, "Could you not?"

Rhydian laughed, "Yeah, sure."

"We'll be back in time for the feast," Jana promised Ceri.

"Make sure you are," Ceri replied, "I know what you're like."

Rhydian and Jana began to walk off but she was sure that Bryn had made a comment about Alric not caring too much if Rhydian and Jana were late if they were spending time together.

"That was a bit awkward," Jana admitted, "I'm sorry. I know everything's new to you- you probably didn't need that conversation on your first day here."

"Has Bryn always been that irritating?" Rhydian asked.

"He's gotten worse with age," Jana replied, "I should warn you he's unlikely to be the only one going on about… you know. I'm sorry about all of this."

"It's not your fault, Jana," Rhydian said, "I get it, it's a big deal. You're the alpha's daughter. That's like being a princess. You probably have tons of rules to follow and traditions you have to obey. I understand."

Jana smiled, "I want you to be happy here."

"I will be," Rhydian insisted.

"What's a princess?" Jana asked, screwing up her face adorably.

Rhydian laughed, "It's a human version of an alpha's daughter. You know you used to call yourself a princess when we were kids. You used to be so insistent that everyone treated you like a princess."

"Well I am an alpha's daughter, so why shouldn't they treat me like a princess?" Jana asked in confusion.

"When you lived in the human world everyone thought you were an abandoned kid," Rhydian admitted, "Not an alpha's daughter."

"What's the human world like now?" Jana asked, "I've only been to the human world a few times, my Dad always punishes me for it."

"Why does he hate the human world so much?" Rhydian asked, "I know your kind don't like humans that much. But what is about the human world that he dislikes?"

"It's our kind, you're like me," Jana insisted, "You were born wild, Rhydian. I don't mind humans all that much, but I'd rather live in the wilderness than the human world. I guess my father thinks it's dangerous there; I did get hurt a lot whilst I was there. Do you remember?"

"Vaguely," Rhydian admitted, "It was a long time ago. It's strange- you used to love the human world so much. I remember how much you wanted to learn to read and write- even though you were really too young to at the time."

"Could you teach me?" Jana asked excitedly, "In secret of course, Aran and Meinir would tell my father if they thought I was learning human writing. I could steal some paper when my Dad's out hunting."

"I was going to teach you," Rhydian said, "That part of the offering I was going to give to you. For refusing to marry you."

Jana felt her heart sink; she hadn't expected him to outright refuse to marry her. It stung, and felt tears well in her eyes but she quickly blinked them away.

"Thank you," Jana said, trying to keep her voice even. They had reached the door to her tent and she stood outside awkwardly, before walking in, Rhydian following her.

"Wow," Rhydian said, "This is nice."

"It's nothing really," Jana said, glancing around at the few decorations that she had- it wouldn't compare to human houses.

"Jana, are you ok?" Rhydian asked, cautiously, he had never thought that his refusal might have upset her. He thought she'd have been glad to not be forced to marry someone she barely knew.

Jana nodded, "I'm fine. Could we not talk about, you know."

"Sure," Rhydian sitting next to Jana, "Do you want me to start teaching you how to read?"

Jana nodded eagerly as Rhydian pulled a book out his bag- Northern Lights by Philip Pullman. Jana looked daunted by the size of the book.

"It's ok," Rhydian said, "I'll teach you."

"Thank you," Jana replied, "I'm glad you're home."

"Me too," Rhydian agreed.


	26. Chapter 26

Rhydian had been with the pack a little over a month when Alric decided that it was time for him to start learning how to hunt. He had tried to protest, unlike the Vaughans he wasn't a vegan but there was no way he was going to kill any animals. The idea made him feel sick.

Aran and Meinir, on the other hand, were experts at killing innocent creatures. Rhydian looked on in horror as the transformed into wolf form and caught the helpless little animals in their jaws. He hated the way that the animals would wriggle and cry before finally giving in to the inevitable.

"Haven't you caught enough animals yet?" Rhydian asked Aran as he threw another dead rabbit into a large canvas bag. Rhydian preferred Aran to Meinir but they were in no way friends.

"I have," Aran said, "But you haven't."

"Maybe he doesn't know what to do," Meinir teased.

"I don't want to," Rhydian admitted.

"We have to eat," Aran began, "And if you're not going to help then you may as well go running back to your human home."

Rhydian growled at the siblings- he wondered how Jana had put up with them for so long.

"Aran is right," Alric began in a menacing tone, "You need to contribute. If you don't help, then you won't eat, it's as simple as that. Return with food, or don't bother returning at all."

Meinir and Aran growled as they followed Alric back to the camp.

Rhydian felt sick, but he knew he had to do this- he didn't want to be exiled, he didn't want to let his Mum, Bryn and Jana down like that.

Alric wasn't asking that much after all, Rhydian thought trying to push the nausea away.

His eyes focused on a small light brown fluffy rabbit, whose ears twitched this way and that as if he knew that his number was up.

Rhydian crouched, preparing to transform, but out of corner of his eye he could something whiz past him and hit the rabbit in the leg.

An arrow.

He turned around to see Jana standing with a bow in her hand.

"I won't tell my Dad," Jana began, "I don't want you to get into any trouble."

Jana shot another arrow at the rabbit, killing it.

"Aran and Meinir are merciless thugs when it comes to hunting," Jana said, "I don't know why my father didn't teach you to hunt with a bow and arrow. I never hunt in wolf form and he never has a problem with it."

"Who taught you how to make one of those?" Rhydian asked.

"No one," Jana said, "I copied the design from the old bow and arrow set you had when we lived in the human world. I wish Jane had let me buy one. She was always so strange about that kind of thing."

"I think she was scared of you," Rhydian admitted, "There wasn't anything about you in my social services records though- I think they were afraid that I would run away to here."

"Did you?" Jana asked, eyes wide with delight at the idea that Rhydian had run away to be with her.

"Yeah, I did," Rhydian said, "But it wasn't easy to find the pack. I kept getting caught."

"Well at least you're home now," Jana said taking Rhydian's hand in hers.

"Thanks for helping me," Rhydian began, "I thought you'd hate me, because of…"

"I'm ok," Jana said, "You should probably be more worried about my father, he hasn't taken it well. He's told me we shouldn't be friends, but I never listen to him anyway."

Rhydian laughed, "Let's go back to camp."

Aran and Meinir were skinning the rabbits as Rhydian and Jana walked back to the camp. Meinir waved a bloody knife at Rhydian and he immediately threw up into the nearby bushes.

"Rhydian!" Jana yelled, hugging him, "Rhydian, are you ok?"

Meinir and Aran laughed loudly, and Rhydian turned red with embarrassment.

Alric rolled him eyes, roughly taking the canvas bag out of Rhydian's hand.

"Let's pretend it was you and not my daughter who caught this," Alric whispered to him, "I certainly don't understand the fascination she has with you."

"Charming," Rhydian said once Alric was out of earshot, "I guess you were right."

"Don't listen to him," Jana said holding out a hand to Rhydian, "Come on, you said there would be a reading lesson tonight."

Rhydian laughed, "You know most humans hate school, they hate reading."

"They're stupid," Jana said, "I love reading and writing. I'm going to teach the whole pack when I'm alpha."

"I'm sure Meinir and Aran are going to love that," Rhydian said.

"Who cares about them?" Jana replied, "I'll probably have them exiled."

"Good," Rhydian said.

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

Jana closed the book, "Why? Why did they do that to him? Poor Roger. No…"

Rhydian smiled, "Please tell me you're not crying over a book."

"But Lyra and Roger," Jana began, brushing away her tears, "They should have been together forever, with Iorek and Seraphina and Mr Scoresby. Why was Asriel so cruel?"

"I guess you won't want to read the sequel?" Rhydian said, holding up another book.

Jana looked at him like he was crazy, "Of course I want to read the sequel."

"Tomorrow," Rhydian promised, "I have a surprise."

Jana smiled excitedly as Rhydian pulled notepad and pen out of his rucksack.

"Writing," Jana beamed, "Thank you, Rhydian!"

"Ssh," Rhydian said, "We don't want your father to hear."

Jana nodded, "Can you teach me how to write my name?"

Rhydian nodded, "Of course."

"I wish there was a way to repay you," Jana admitted.

"Don't worry about it," Rhydian said, "You've been there for me since the first day I got here. You've helped me survive out here."

Jana smiled, "Well I have a surprise for you too."


	27. Chapter 27

Jana was beginning to regret asking Rhydian to take her to the human world. Especially now he had been sentenced to the Kronock. She turned her back on Aran so that he couldn't see the tears running down her face. There was no way that Rhydian would survive the punishment, and even if he did he would be exiled.

She would never see him again.

Worst of all, her father had found the books and notebook in her tent. He had been livid and now Aran and Meinir followed her around wherever she went. She wasn't allowed to see Rhydian or Bryn and Ceri. She was told to stay in her tent unless her father wanted her to help with any chores. Part of her wished that she had been sent to the Kronock too; even it would mean that she would have died, just so that Rhydian didn't have to suffer alone.

"Jana," Aran began quietly, "Don't ever tell Meinir that I said this. But I'm sorry about what happened to Rhydian."

"Don't be so cruel, Aran," Jana replied, picking at a blanket, "I know you're only going to make some kind of joke."

"No," Aran insisted, "I meant it. I really do. I might act like an idiot sometimes, but that's only because of Meinir. I never meant to get you and Rhydian into any trouble. I know how much he makes you happy."

Jana cried quietly, "It's all my fault. I wanted to go to the human world with him; I wanted to see if it had changed much from when I used to live there. I never meant for any of this to happen."

"I can't say much," Aran began, "But Rhydian will be safe soon. I promise."

Jana smiled, hoping that Aran was right.

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

"You freed him!" Alric yelled at Aran, "How dare you disobey my command?"

"I am sorry," Aran began, "But whilst the cub was here he risked all of our lives. I didn't mean to disobey you. I wanted to do the right thing- he already tried to corrupt your daughter; I just wanted to protect us. Whilst he was here, even the mere mention of his name, was enough to remind people of the human weaknesses his tried to bring to our family. He was going to destroy our kind."

Alric sighed, "You shouldn't have disobeyed me, Aran, but at least you did it for the right reasons. All the same, he will have to be brought back for punishment- we will have to decide on a sentence that minimises his influence on the pack."

"Thank you," Aran said kneeling before his alpha.

"Now fetch my daughter," Alric said, "I have a task for her."

Jana held the wolf toy in her hand. She had heard Aran's speech and was surprised her father had bought it. She knew it was Ceri who had freed Rhydian, and she was gratefully that Aran had protected her.

"Your father wants to see you," Aran said, before Jana followed him into the clearing.

"You will go to Stoneybridge," Alric said without preamble "And bring Rhydian back to the pack. You will distance him from his friends and persuade him to return here. Do you understand?"

"But if he returns you'll hurt him," Jana began.

"Jana!" Alric said, "You will do as I say. Rhydian had put us all in danger, especially you. He did it when you ran away on your own as toddler, he did it when he pretended to teach you how to read and write. He tricked you and tried to corrupt the pack. He used you- he doesn't deserve your friendship or your pity."

"If he is so dangerous then why do you want me to bring him back?" Jana argued.

Alric moved to he looked her straight in the eyes, "Do not disobey me, Jana. Rhydian must return only to receive his punishment, and then he will be exiled. If you fail to bring him back you will be exiled too, do you understand?"

"But I'm your heir, your only heir," Jana protested.

"I would replace you with Meinir and Aran," Alric explained, "Do not fail me, or fail the pack."

Jana nodded frightened at what she was being asked to do, "When should I leave?"

"Gather some of your things," Alric began, "And leave immediately. And remember, Jana, if he doesn't return then neither do you."


	28. Chapter 28

"_You are no daughter of mine."_

Jana fell to the ground in shock. The words rung in her head. No, no, this couldn't be happening. She looked up as her father walked away- he didn't even look back. Tears ran down her face, as she began to sob loudly, he couldn't do this to her.

He couldn't.

She had tried so hard to do as he'd asked and then he'd betrayed her. He'd lied to.

Worst of all he'd tried to hurt her friends and make her chose between them and her family.

Now she knew she no longer had a family or a pack.

Images of Aran, Meinir, her father, Bryn and Ceri flashed before her eyes. They were her family- and now she would never see them again.

She didn't know who she was anymore.

She was only half aware of her friends trying to comfort her. Maddy hugged her ad Rhydian stroked her messy hair and told her everything was going to be ok. Shannon and Tom were there too, trying to make her feel better. She wanted so much to feel better, but all she felt was hollow and broken.

Her life had been full of so much pain, but she would have taken a billion car accidents and wolfblood fights if it meant that she could have her friends, family and pack in her life.

She felt someone's arms wrap around her pulling up off the cold snowy ground. She wobbled on her unsteady legs and leaned on Rhydian as he half carried her out of the woods, Maddy, Shannon and Tom at his side.

"We should go back to mine tonight," Tom suggested, "Mum's working a nightshift."

"Mum and Dad won't mind me staying at yours either," Maddy said, "Shannon?"

"Should be ok," Shannon said, "They've never complained before."

"I'll have to call Mrs Vaughan," Rhydian said, "She'll go crazy otherwise."

"I'll be ok at the caravan," Jana began, her voice shaky.

"No," Maddy protested, "You're staying with us tonight."

"Thank you," Jana said. She had started shivering but wasn't sure whether it was the cold or just shock.

Rhydian still held on tightly to Jana, he had never seen her so miserable and scared. He could feel her shaking and was worried she would collapse again. He wanted to get her somewhere safe and warm. He wanted to protect her, like she had protected him.

They reached Tom's house a few minutes later, and they followed him into a small kitchen. Jana looked around in wonder at the many objects that were so foreign to her, when the kettle began to boil a few minutes later she jumped in fear.

Rhydian placed a blanket around Jana's shoulders, she was shaking violently and her fingers had turned blue with cold. Rhydian hoped she wasn't hypothermic- wild wolfbloods were supposed to be able to survive in freezing conditions, but Jana was so small and she had spent a long time collapsed on the frozen ground.

They all watched nervously as Jana sipped her tea, screwing her face up at the bitter taste. Shannon heated up some beef stew on the stove, talking to Rhydian about finding a movie to watch after dinner.

Rhydian was reluctant to leave Jana but knew she would safe with Maddy, Tom and Shannon. He worried about her, but at least she wasn't going to be alone. At least she would have them to look after her.

Jana appeared in the doorway of the lounge a few moments later. In her hand she held the stuffed toy wolf. It was worn and dirty and had grown thin with years of being hugged but Jana clung onto it like her life depended on it.

Rhydian hugged Jana, as she sobbed loudly. He sat next to her on the sofa watching as she gradually fell asleep, the little wolf toy clutched to her chest. Somehow he knew that she would never be able to sleep without that toy. He draped another blanket around her, hearing her snore gently.

He watched over her as she slept, knowing that he would do everything in his power to protect her.


	29. Chapter 29

A loud booming noise rang out into the clearing and the cawing crows scattered.

It had been two months since Jana had left Stoneybridge and returned as alpha to the pack. In that time the pack had increased in size- Gwyn and Cadwr reminded her so much of Rhydian and herself, and when she'd found them alone and orphaned in the woods she knew she would never turn them away, in fact they had almost become like a little brother and sister to her.

It was their faces that were the first she saw when she woke up.

An excruciating pain cut deep into her side and was afraid to move, her vision was fuzzy around the edges and she struggled to stay awake. She could hear the mumble of voices but it took too much strength to try to make out what they were saying. From their panicked expressions she could tell that this was serious and that she wasn't going to walk away from this the same person she had been before.

She would have smiled if she could when she heard Gwyn mention about taking her to the human world to get help. It was Cadwr who was obsessed with human things; he had been fascinated by the town she had taken him to when she'd gone to get the medicine. Gwyn was always the more cautious one, always looking after her brother and keeping him out of trouble- which usually just meant keeping him out of Meinir and Aran's way.

What perhaps surprised Jana the most was the worried look on Meinir's face. It was true that at times Meinir and Aran had been nice to her, but those times were few and far between- it was good to know that they were willing to help her now.

They started to carry over the uneven ground every movement causing Jana to wince in pain. She knew now that she could sleep but was afraid that the darkness would take her away completely before she had a chance to say goodbye to Rhydian, Maddy, Shannon, Tom and her pack.

As the darkness consumed her, she hoped this wouldn't be the last time she'd see daylight.

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

She woke up and saw a strange wooden structure built around. She lay on a bed of leaves staring up at the worried look on her aunt's face.

"Jana," Ceri whispered softly, "It's ok, Carriad. You'll be better soon, I promise."

"What happened?" Jana asked in a barely audible voice.

"You were shot," Ceri explained, "The bullet is too deep for me to remove but we're taking you somewhere where you can get help."

Jana's eyes widened with understanding- she was going to see Rhydian again.

"Am I going to die?" Jana asked, tears in her eyes.

Ceri looked away not wanting to answer her niece's question. She knew if they didn't get to the human world soon that Jana was unlikely to survive.

Jana nodded in understanding, hoping that the next time she saw Rhydian it wouldn't be to say goodbye.

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

When Meinir and Aran had blocked his path he knew that meant that Jana and his mother were nearby, he used Eolas to find them before running towards them, Aran and Meinir following behind him.

He had seen that something was wrong, he'd seen his mother but he hadn't seen Jana anywhere. What was going on?

When he reached them, he knew something was seriously wrong. Jana lay deadly still, a hand clutching her side, her eyes unable to focus on anything.

"She's been shot," his mother explained.

Shock ran through him, his veins turning black.

No, not his Jana, after everything she'd been through, not this.

He lifted her gently into his arms, and she winced in pain. He was afraid to touch her, but seeing he lying on the ground like that, it brought back to him all the memories of Jana being in pain- her falling out of the tree when they were toddlers, the car crash, her father abandoning her- and this time he hadn't been able to protect her from the big bad world.

"Rhydian," she murmured, a small smile on her face, she tried to look at him, but he could tell that the pain was overwhelming her.

He rummaged in his bag for a packet of paracetemol. He knew it wasn't likely to be enough but he hoped that it would take the edge off the pain.

After some coaxing, Jana took her medicine and she seemed to be happier. She dozed in and out of consciousness as Rhydian carried her the mile and a half to Maddy's house.

"A man came looking for us with a gun," Aran explained, "Jana took wolf form but she wasn't quick enough."

Rhydian passed Jana carefully to Meinir and Aran, "Take her while I look for a key."

He found the key under the flower pot where it usually was and unlocked the door. He hadn't been inside the house in a good two months, and everything will still boxed up the way it had been when Maddy and her family had left.

"Put her on the sofa," Rhydian said, before helping them.

He knew he would have to call Shannon and Tom, even if he had been horrible to them earlier on he hoped they would understand. He needed them to understand.

Something was seriously wrong- he knew there was more to it than what he was being told.

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

Jana was dying.

He couldn't believe it.

He wanted to do anything he could to take her pain away- even if it meant taking her place. She was so still and so quiet. So unlike the girl he had known for so long.

He brushed a lock of her hair away from her pale face, his hand brushing her feverish skin.

"The rite of Carennydd," Jana said unexpectedly.

Ceri nodded and Rhydian knew that this was probably a wolfblood funeral rite. He hadn't expected Jana to just give up. The pain was obviously too much for her to handle and he knew no matter how much he wanted her to stay, that he wanted her to be at peace.

He squeezed her hand in reassurance, and tried to do the same but lacked the strength.

Ceri put a hand on his shoulder, "It's not what you think, my beautiful boy. Jana wants to be your sister."

"But she's already my sister," Rhydian admitted, although he'd never said it aloud before.

Jana smiled at him, "I know I am your sister but wild wolfbloods have a rite to make it official. It's called the Rite of Kinship. If I die today I want to know that I'm a real part of your family. I know our parents always wanted us to be a family, I guess we will be, just not in the way that they imagined."

Jana began to speak slowly in Welsh, each word making her weaker and weaker. He wanted to tell her to stop and rest but he knew how much this meant to her. How much this meant to him.

He wanted Jana to be his sister, and he wanted to be her brother. Those times when Jana had a crush on him has always felt so wrong to him, and Jana had confessed at a later date that she hadn't been sure of whether she loved him in that way or not. He knew now that their bond was platonic- they had been raised together from birth, and had been perfect companions for each other. Their parents might have wanted them to be lovers, but in fact they had raised them up as siblings, always looking after and protecting each other.

Rhydian repeated Jana's words and his mother signalled that the rite was complete.

He pulled Jana into his arms as his sister slept peacefully.

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

The sound of footsteps on the stairs woke her up. At some time during her nap someone had move her and put several pillows behind her head, propping her up, and covered her in several blankets. If it weren't for the pain she would feel very snug.

Next to her saw the wolf toy sitting on the bedside table, she was glad that Ceri had picked it up before leaving for Stoneybridge.

She saw Shannon and Tom appear at the door and gave them a small smile. She had missed them so much.

"Hello," Shannon said, sitting next to Jana, taking her hand and squeezing it reassuringly.

"Hey," Tom said, sitting at the edge of the bed, "I think Rhydian's bringing up some food in a minute."

Jana's stomach grumbled and she was surprised to find that she was hungry for the first time in a few days.

Shannon laughed, "What is it with you wolfbloods?"

Jana laughed quietly, somehow she felt better, maybe it was the medicine Rhydian had given her or maybe it was knowing that he was now her brother.

Tom passed her a bar of chocolate, "Don't tell Rhydian. He'll be mad if you ruin your appetite."

Jana offered the chocolate around before taking a bite, she felt nauseous- she needed red meat not human food- but she ate it all the same, knowing that she needed the sugar.

She could hear Rhydian talking downstairs- something about a Segolia and a doctor. She could smell food cooking and heard someone yelling about hot dogs.

She was aware of Shannon speaking to her and tuned into the conversation.

"It was so good when we were a pack," Shannon said.

"Yeah, it was really good fun," Jana replied.

"You could always stay," Tom suggested, "Just until you get better."

Jana nodded before hearing the crash of china breaking and saw Aran running up the stairs.

"Get away from my alpha!" Aran yelled.

"Aran," Jana argued but she knew something was wrong, the pain had come back sharp and stinging.

"Tempting her to live in your world," Aran continued.

Jana winced, something was very wrong.

"We just want what's best for her," Tom said.

"How would you know what's best?" Aran asked, "You're not wolfbloods, you can't tempt her from us."

"No one is tempting anyone," Rhydian said growling.

Jana knew something was going to happen, their voices grew quieter and her vision became blurry, she squinted try to focus but the pain was horrible, she felt her eyelids become heavy and her heart skip a beat, she felt her head rest on Shannon's shoulder.

Then everything was dark.

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

"Rhydian!" Shannon yelled.

He looked at Jana, her skin was ghostly pale. She looked like a ghost. She couldn't be, Rhydian thought in denial, not his little sister. He was supposed to protect her. She couldn't be taken from him like this.

He wanted to burst out crying, praying to any god he could think of that none of this was happening. Not his little Jana, he couldn't be losing her.

"Is she?" Rhydian stuttered as his Mum stood next to Jana, listening for any indication that the girl was still alive.

"Just," Ceri said as everyone let out a sigh.

Rhydian kneeled next to Jana placing a kiss on her cheek, hearing her shallow breathing and the flutter of her heart. She was so ill, so close to death.

"Stay," he said, watching as moments later her eyelashes fluttered.

Somewhere inside of him, Rhydian knew that Jana would survive this.

He just had to believe that.

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

The operation had gone to plan, but everyone was still nervous. They hadn't known if it would be completely successful.

Jana certainly looked better, but Rhydian knew that it would be months before she was back to her old self. She slept peacefully waiting for the sedative wear off, there was colour in her cheeks and she was breathing properly now, her heartbeat strong and steady.

Aran stood next to her, his hand gently resting on her pillow. They were all going to protect her.

Minutes later Jana began to sniff the air gently, before her eyes opened and she began to sit up.

Rhydian smiled happily, she was so much better already. He hadn't expected her to be this healthy already.

"The poison's gone," Jana announced, "I can feel it."

Meinir, Aran and Ceri rushed to her side, helping her to sit up.

"Thank you," Aran said to Shannon and Tom, "Both of you she wouldn't have survived without you."

"Thank you," Shannon replied, "You brought her all this way."

Jana smiled, "Thank you. I'm so happy we're all together."

Shannon and Tom smiled, before leaving the room.

Rhydian pulled Jana gently into his arms, "I have to leave now, to face the nightmare that is Mrs Vaughan in a bad mood. But I promise I'll come back as soon as I can, little sister."

Jana smiled, "Thank you. I wouldn't have survived this without you."


	30. Chapter 30

**14 years later**

" Jasper Rhydian, no, don't do that!" the scarlet haired woman yelled, "No Jasper, don't you dare! No Arianne, do not even think for a minute… Just wait until you're uncle gets here!"

The doorbell rang, and Jana swept a tendril of hair away from her face, aware of the fact that she looked like a mess and the guests had arrived.

"I'll get it!" her kids yelled in unison, dropping their pet cat and an opened tin of macaroni cheese on the floor and darting towards the door, pushing and shoving each other as they ran.

"Uncle Rhydian!" the yelled before hugging their uncle.

Rhydian waved sheepishly as he was hounded by the young cubs, "Jana, rescue me. Please!"

"I would love to but the meat loaf's going to hell over here!" she yelled back.

Rhydian laughed before freeing himself of the cubs and embracing his sister.

"It's been too long," Jana said, "Please tell me why I took that job."

"Because the Segolia office in New York has the best security department in the whole corporation," Rhydian said, "Though I didn't actually expect you to live in the city."

"It's temporary," Jana said, "I can reassure you. How's Maddy, Adrian and Cassie?"

"Maddy's great," Rhydian began, "Adrian and Cass are great too, excited about having a little brother or sister too. They've been waiting nearly twelve years. What about your two?"

"It's a joy most of the time," Jana said, before yelling at her daughter, "No Arianne, cats do not eat macaroni!"

The small carroty haired girl smiled, "What about dairylea dunkers?"

"No, just put Monty down," Jana said firmly.

"Hey!" the girl said as her brother swiped at her.

"You're it!" he yelled before running off, his sister following him.

There was a knock on the door.

"That'll be Maddy and the kids," Rhydian announced, before opening the door for them and kissing her. Adrian and Cass screwed up their noses before running to join their cousins who were playing x-box in the lounge.

"This is nice, Jana," Maddy said, hugging her friend, "I never imagined you living in New York though."

Jana laughed, "It's only temporary, Segolia's sorting out a place out in the country."

"Good, the parking's terrible," Adrian said, grabbing a cookie out of the cookie jar, which Jana had tried to place out of reach of the kids. He was almost the mirror image of his father at that age, with his golden blonde and blue eyes. And of course, just like his father, he was tall and never seemed to stop growing.

"Adrian!" Cassidy yelled, hands on hips, her straight brown hair swishing around her shoulders, "Auntie Jana's gone to all this trouble cooking a meal for us and all you can do is fill your face with cookies."

"I'll still have room," Adrian shrugged, grabbing another cookie from the jar.

"When are Auntie Shannon and Uncle Tom going to get here?" Arianne asked entering the kitchen, she held a terrified Monty in her arms.

"Once they find a parking space," Adrian said, passing a cookie to his cousin, "I wouldn't put the kettle on just yet."

Arianne wolfed down the cookie, and raised an eyebrow at her cousin.

"What, do I not even get a thank you?" the boy protested.

Arianne rolled her eyes, "It was only one cookie, you've scoffed down at least five in the past five minutes."

"Well," Jana said, taking the cookies away from them, "You've both had enough."

Rhydian laughed at his flustered sister. Whilst motherhood had come naturally to Maddy and Shannon, Jana was definitely a fish out of water. She more used to looking after other people's cub than raising her own. She was definitely a good mother but she found it all very stressful. With an eight year old daughter and a six year old son, there was never a dull day. Worst of all their father was often away on business, leaving Jana to deal with cubs on her own.

"Mummy," Jasper began, "I think Monty's poorly, should I sing to him? It's what you do when we're poorly. Or should I give him some Dol-drink?"

"Look, just leave Monty alone," Jana said, taking the cat from her son, "I think he wants some peace and quiet."

The cat yowled before scratching Jana. Like all cats, the tabby hated wolfbloods. It was expected- dogs and cats never got on. Of course, being half-human half-wolfblood meant that Monty didn't mind the cubs too much, as long as they weren't trying to feed him anything dodgy or pulling his tail.

"I'm sure Auntie Shannon will fix him," Adrian said, "She experiments on animals doesn't she?"

"You mean she does research into wolfbloods," Maddy clarified.

There was a knock on the door.

"I bet that's her and Tom," Rhydian said, "Do you know if Liam's coming as well?"

Jana laughed, "I invited him, but you know what he's like. You remember him at the wedding, I asked him to look after the kids for five minutes. He immediately passed them to you and ran out."

"That was because Arianne was projectile vomiting," Rhydian explained, "You should have stopped her eating all those glace cherries off the cake."

"She was two years old," Jana argued, getting the food out of the oven, "She wasn't supposed to be able to reach them."

Maddy welcomed in Shannon, Tom, Eliya, Darius and Lily.

"Nice place, Jana," Tom said, "Do you need any help?"

Jana smiled, "Just a SWAT team."

Jana heard yelling from the corridor and saw the Shannon and Tom's kids go running into the living room.

"Jesus, Arianne!" Lily yelled, "How can you make so much mess?"

"Just sit down you lot!" Cass yelled, taking charge. As the eldest she could often be bossy, but at least the rest of the cubs listened to her.

Jana let out a sigh of relief, "I think a crisis has been averted. Just."

"How's Xander?" Shannon asked.

"You know what works like," Jana replied, "Works sending him here there and everywhere. He's off in Norway at the moment. If it weren't for school I'm sure we'd have joined him out there."

"Send him our love," Maddy said, "He'll have to visit us in Alberta. I hope it can make the annual camping trip."

"You know I never thought I'd meet a human who loves the wilderness so much," Jana admitted adding chocolate sprinkles to the top of a giant gateau.

"I never thought you'd marry a human either," Rhydian added.

They had been shocked when they learnt that Jana was marry a human. At first they had speculated that it was Liam or Jimi and had been horrified at the idea. But after meeting Xander they were reassured. Where Jana was easily flustered and stubborn, Xander was calm and level headed. They balanced each other out. Although it appeared that Jana's kids, especially Arianne, had inherited their mother's personality.

"My father didn't take it well," Jana began, "He's still not taking it well. Although Aran and Meinir seemed of with it. I guess they would be what with Meinir being a human for so long now- did you get the invitations to her engagement party? Gerwyn and Ceri say she's marrying a wild wolfblood. Did you know about that Rhydian?"

Her brother nodded, "We've known about that for ages."

"Well you know my emails have been playing up," Jana explained, "I think the kids have hacked the parental controls again. Aran got an email from them last week- you know he gets about the whole rabbits thing, it was all very embarrassing."

Everyone laughed. No one really knew what it was about Aran and rabbits, but he did seem to have a very unhealthy obsession with them.

"Did you see that article in Nature?" Shannon began excitedly, "I sent you a copy in the post, I can't believe they published my work!"

"That's brilliant, Shannon," Jana said.

"Becca thinks that one of us will get the Nobel Prize soon," Shannon continued, "Imagine that. Imagine the funding Segolia could get."

Jana smiled, "I think I should get some of the credit. If I didn't hate pizza as much as I do you would have never got my DNA."

They laughed.

"I'll go round up the cubs," Tom said, before heading off to the living room.

Cass darted into the kitchen, "Mum, I really think you should reconsider letting me go to that party."

"Your father and I told you no and that's final," Maddy said.

"Well, I…" Rhydian began.

Maddy shot him a warning glance.

"Your mother's right," Rhydian said.

"But everyone else is going!" Cass protested.

"There's going to be alcohol," Maddy said, "There's no way you're going to a party like that."

Cass sighed, "Fine whatever."

"Don't even think about sneaking out just because it's on a full moon," Maddy added.

"You know she's not even a teenager yet," Shannon said, helping Eliya and Darius, the three year old twins sit down.

Jana's kids and Adrian barrelled into the room, fighting to get the best seats. With so many of them, it had been a struggle to fit them all into the small flat. They had somehow managed but Jana was prepared for chaos.

The doorbell rang.

"Maybe its Liam," Rhydian suggested.

"No," Jana said, sniffing the air. Wolfbloods- she could tell, but their scent was so familiar.

She opened the door.

Xander stood there his jet black hair messy, his deep blue eyes full of love for Jana. Next to him stood a slightly younger man, with straight ginger hair and an older woman who Jana recognised instantaneously.

"Mum," Jana said shocked, "Pedr."

The man smiled.

Xander pulled Jana into his arms, "I knew how much you wanted to find out the truth about what happened to your mother and brother. I never imagined they would be living on the outskirts of Portland."

"Xander, you're amazing," Jana said before kissing him, hearing retching noises from the cubs.

"I love you," Xander said.

"I love you too," Jana replied, before kissing him again.

"Is there going to be enough food?" Adrian asked concerned.

Jana rolled her eyes.

She was just glad to be with her family.

THE END


End file.
